Visitors have their temperature checked by staff members wearing face guards and masks during the reopening day of Tokyo Disneyland park in Urayasu, near Tokyo on July 1, 2020. (PHILIP FONG / AFP)

SYDENY / ANKARA / DUBAI / CAIRO / SEOUL / TOKYO - Tokyo confirmed more than 100 more novel coronavirus infections on Thursday, public broadcaster NHK said, the highest daily tally in two months in the city at the centre of Japan's outbreak. 

The jump comes after the city of 14 million sought to hold new daily cases at fewer than 20 since the government lifted a state of emergency on May 25, only to see its tally consistently exceed 50 over the past week. 

Tokyo's daily count last exceeded 100 on May 2. On Wednesday, it confirmed 67 new cases.

As infections surpass the city government's target, two weeks into its the final phase of loosening of virus curbs, officials have repeatedly said they see no need to declare a new state of emergency.

Australia

Australian police set up suburban checkpoints in new coronavirus hotspots in Melbourne on Thursday and were considering using drones to enforce stay-at-home orders as authorities struggled to contain new outbreaks in the country's second-largest city, as authorities struggled to contain new outbreaks in the country's second-largest city, even as travel restrictions eased elsewhere. 

More than 1,000 police set up posts around 36 suburbs, which returned to lockdown after a spike in new infections, as Victoria reported 77 new infections in the previous 24 hours. 

While the rest of Australia opened state borders and loosened social distancing restrictions, Melbourne's state of Victoria promised to fine those in the affected zones that breached curbs on non-essential movement.

The new infections means that Victoria has 415 active cases that its aware of, which state Chief Heath Officer Brett Sutton said on Thursday “means there are other infections still to be found out there and they’re all at risk of transmitting to others.”

Police are also probing alleged security lapses at Melbourne hotels used to quarantine overseas arrivals, including claims guards slept with guests.

India

The local government in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh Thursday launched a special campaign to carry out door-to-door screening of people for COVID-19 patients, officials said. The campaign began in Meerut division, the epicenter of India, which has a large number of infections in the state.

The total COVID-19 cases in India surpassed 600,000-mark, reaching 604,641 on Thursday, and the death toll rose to 17,834, as authorities battled to contain the pandemic while easing lockdown rules, said the latest data released by the federal health ministry.

The ministry said 434 new deaths due to COVID-19, besides fresh 19,148 positive cases, were reported during the past 24 hours across the country, taking the number of deaths to 17,834 and the total cases to 604,641.

Delhi police personnel have been hit hard by coronavirus (COVID-19) over the past three months, as more than 2,000 cops have been infected so far, among whom 10 have succumbed to the virus.

Out of the over 2,000 cops who tested positive, as many as 1,300 have recovered and resumed duty, according to a Delhi police spokesman.

Indonesia

Indonesia is working to produce its own COVID-19 vaccine next year, amid growing anxiety that developing countries could have difficulty getting access to a future jab, the head of Indonesia’s national COVID-19 research team said Thursday.

“The production capability and capacity of biotech companies in the world is, we know, limited, and global supply chains also have challenges,” Ali Ghufron Mukti, head of the innovation team at Indonesia’s research and technology ministry, told a streamed press conference alongside the country’s foreign minister.

“Therefore, it is necessary for Indonesia to develop its own COVID-19 vaccine. And it will be by Indonesia, from Indonesia, to Indonesia,” he said.

"We are using our theory and we are optimistic that in the year 2021 and early 2021, this will be finished in the laboratory," he said, adding state-owned firm Bio Farma could conduct trials in the second half of next year.

Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has in recent months spoken about the need for developing countries to have access to any future vaccine, amid concern that rich countries would try to corner a limited supply.

Such concerns increased this week, when the United States announced it had bought up most of the global supply of Gilead Sciences Inc's drug remdesivir, shown to speed up recovery times from COVID-19.

The pandemic has sparked a race to find a vaccine, with more than 100 in development and around a dozen already being tested in humans.

The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 1,624 within one day to 59,394, with the death toll adding by 53 to 2,987, Achmad Yurianto, a Health Ministry official, said at a press conference here on Thursday.

According to him, 1,072 more people had been discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 26,667.

Iran 

Iran reported 2,549 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, taking the total confirmed novel coronavirus cases to 230,211.

Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said during her daily update that 141 people died overnight, taking the total fatalities over the virus to 10,958.

Iraq

The Iraqi Health Ministry recorded 2,415 new COVID-19 cases during the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections nationwide to 51,524.

The ministry also confirmed 107 more deaths, raising the death toll to 2,050 in the country.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Wednesday attributed the worsened coronavirus pandemic to "poor planning and accumulated mismanagement."

READ MORE: Japan will not yet invoke emergency despite spike in cases

Police inspect driver licences at a checkpoint in the locked-down suburb of Broadmeadows in Melbourne on July 2, 2020. Around 300,000 people in Melbourne have returned to lockdown under the threat of fines and arrest as Australia’s second biggest city attempts to control a spike in virus cases. (WILLIAM WEST / AFP)

Israel

A special Israeli ministerial committee on Wednesday declared certain neighborhoods in the central city of Lod and in the coastal city of Ashdod as "restricted areas" as a result of high morbidity rates in these neighborhoods.

Measures such as limiting entry and exit and restricting traffic and business activities will be placed in order to maintain public health. 

The Israeli health ministry reported 1,013 new coronavirus cases, the highest single-day surge, raising the total number in the country to 26,257.

Meanwhile, the death toll increased from 320 to 322, while the number of patients in serious condition rose from 52 to 57, out of 243 patients currently hospitalized.

Kuwait

Kuwait on Wednesday reported 745 new COVID-19 cases and four more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 46,940 and the death toll to 358, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also announced the recovery of 685 more patients, raising the total recoveries in the country to 37,715.

Kyrgyzstan 

Kyrgyzstan confirmed 526 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, taking its total to 6,261.

Of the new cases, seven are imported, with the rest being contacts of confirmed patients, Akmatova said.

Among the new cases, 42 are medical workers, taking the total number of infected medical workers to 921, including 464 recoveries, she added.

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Lebanon

Lebanon's number of COVID-19 infections rose by 10 cases to 1,788 while the death toll remained unchanged at 34.

Lebanon reopened Beirut Airport on Wednesday after four months of closure because of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

During his tour at the airport, Lebanese Health Minister Hamad Hassan said exceptional measures were taken by the ministries, the civil aviation authority and security forces to ensure protection of tourists, expatriates and locals.

New Zealand

New Zealand's embattled Health Minister resigned on Thursday after security slip-ups at quarantine facilities where the coronavirus was detected just days after officials declared it had been eliminated from the country. 

David Clark was also under fire for personally breaching strict lockdown rules twice earlier in the year, by taking his family on a beach trip and driving to a mountain biking track. "It has become increasingly clear to me that my continuation in the role is distracting from the government's overall.

New Zealand reported two new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday in managed isolation and quarantine facilities, taking the tally to 1,180. 

Qatar

Qatar's health ministry announced 915 new infections of COVID-19, increasing the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 97,003.

People wearing protective face masks to curb the spread of COVID-19 walk on the Galata bridge, at Karakoy district in Istanbul on July 1, 2020. (OZAN KOSE / AFP)

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia extended for an additional period several government initiatives to support the private sector and investors in mitigating the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, state news agency SPA reported on Thursday, citing a decision by King Salman.

Saudi Arabia registered on Wednesday 3,402 new coronavirus cases, bringing the accumulated number to 194,225.

The Saudi health ministry said 49 new deaths were reported, bringing the death toll to 1,698, while 1,994 more recovered, bringing the total recoveries to 132,760.

South Korea

South Korea found 54 more confirmed Covid-19 cases in 24 hours, raising the total tally to 12,904, according to data from Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.

Of the new cases 44 were locally infected, while 10 were imported. The death toll remained unchanged at 282.

Thailand

Thailand confirms six new coronavirus cases Thursday, all found in state quarantine after returning from Indonesia, South Africa and Sudan, according to Panprapa Yongtrakul, a spokeswoman for the COVID-19 center.

Turkey

Turkey recorded 1,192 new cases and 19 deaths, taking the total number of infections to 201,098 and the death toll to 5,150.

Turkey's biggest Istanbul Airport inaugurated its first COVID-19 test center for international passengers on Wednesday.

Internet cafes and gaming halls across Turkey also reopened on Wednesday with a series of measures as the government has been gradually relaxing COVID-19 restrictions.

These businesses are obliged to take precautionary measures set by the Health Ministry's Scientific Committee, including regular disinfection, wearing masks and following the social distancing, the Turkish Interior Ministry said.

UAE

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday announced 402 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 49,069.

The UAE also confirmed one more death, pushing up the country's death toll to 316.

Yemen

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Yemen's government-controlled provinces increased to 1,190 on Wednesday, as 32 new cases were confirmed.

The Yemeni Health Ministry said in a statement that during the past 24 hours, the number of recoveries in the government-controlled areas increased to 504 since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus on April 10.