A man wearing a face mask walks past a sign urging people to wash their hands in Melbourne on August 14, 2020 as the city battles an outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (WILLIAM WEST / AFP)

SYDNEY / WELLINGTON / DUBAI / CAIRO－Australia’s Victoria state extended a state of emergency in its latest effort to contain infections and deaths, even as the federal government said it’s close to a deal with drug makers to produce a COVID-19 vaccine.

Daniel Andrews, the premier of the country’s second-most populous state, said Sunday the emergency will be extended by four more weeks through Sept. 13. Victoria reported 279 new infections in the past 24 hours and 16 deaths.

A final proposal is expected to go before the Expenditure Review Committee within days and sources are confident a contract will be signed within a fortnight, The Sunday Telegraph said. The government wants to use local facilities to produce the vaccine, with as many as 30 potential sites being reviewed, according to the newspaper.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan on Sunday reported 48 new COVID-19 cases within the past 24 hours, bringing the total tally in the country to 37,599, the Ministry of Public Health said.

"During the past 24 hours, 468 suspected cases were tested, out of which 48 cases were tested coronavirus positive in 10 provinces of the country's 34 provinces," the ministry said in a statement.

Five COVID-19 patients died in the past 24 hours, taking the toll to 1,375 since the outbreak of the pandemic in Afghanistan in February.

Indonesia

COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 2,081 within one day to 139,549, with the death toll adding by 79 to 6,150, the Health Ministry said on Sunday.

According to the ministry, 1,782 more people were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 93,103.

Iran

Iran, the hardest-hit country in the Middle East region, reported 2,245 new cases, bringing the total number of infections to 341,070.

Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said at her daily briefing that 161 people died from the coronavirus overnight, taking the total death toll to 19,492.

As of Saturday, 295,630 patients have recovered, while 3,911 others remain in critical condition in ICU.

Iraq

The Iraqi Health Ministry reported 4,293 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily increase since the outbreak of the disease, bringing the total infections to 172,583.

It also reported 76 fatalities during the day, raising the death toll from the virus to 5,785, while 2,571 more patients recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 122,700.

"It is a serious fact that the daily coronavirus infections cross the threshold of 4,000," Deputy Health Minister Hazim al-Jumaili said.

Attributing the latest surge in the number of infections to the public non-compliance with health measures during the Eid al-Adha holiday, al-Jumaili called on the authorities concerned "to rapidly take strict measures against all violators of the health instructions."

Japan

While confirmed new cases in Tokyo slipped to 260 on Sunday, from 385 the previous day, the data showed patients in their 20s accounted for 84% of those infections. The total number of infected people in Tokyo now stands at 17,714, of which 25 are in critical condition. 

On Thursday, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said it will keep its COVID-19 alert at its highest level.

Kuwait

Kuwait reported 512 new COVID-19 cases and four more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 75,697 and the death toll to 498, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also announced the recovery of 779 more patients, raising the total recoveries in the country to 67,519.

Kuwait will move into the fourth phase of its five-phase plan to return to normal life. The fourth phase is set to start on Aug. 18 and the government will permit salons, gyms, barbershops, tailor's, and spas to reopen and restaurants to offer more services.

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India

India's COVID-19 tally reached 2,589,682 on Sunday as 49,980 deaths have taken place so far across the country, according to the latest health ministry data.

As many as 63,490 new COVID-19 cases were detected, and 944 people died due to the virus in the country in the past 24 hours.

There are still 677,444 active COVID-19 cases in India, while a total of 1,862,258 people have been successfully cured and discharged from hospitals across the country.

The Recovery Rate of COVID-19 cases has risen to nearly 72 percent, even as the Death Rate has come down to below 2 percent, the ministry said.

Israel

Israel reported 1,153 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the tally of coronavirus infections to 92,233.

The death toll of the virus in Israel increased to 674 while the recoveries rose to 67,951.

Jordan

Jordan recorded 10 new cases of COVID-19, increasing the tally to 1,339 since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country.

Jordan said on Saturday that it would isolate Ramtha District in the northern parts of the country at the borders with Syria as more coronavirus infections are reported in the area.

Men, some clad in masks due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, stand underneath a roadside shower along Sinak street in Iraq's capital Baghdad on August 9, 2020, to cool off due to extremely high temperature rises amidst a heatwave. (AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)

Lebanon

Lebanon's number of COVID-19 infections increased by 397 cases to 8,442 while death toll went up by 3 to 97, the Health Ministry reported.

Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan said his ministry, in cooperation with municipalities, has started isolating a number of streets in specific areas in an attempt to restrict the further spread of the virus. 

Malaysia

Malaysia reported 25 new COVID-19 infections, the Health Ministry said on Sunday, bringing the national total to 9,200.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press statement that among the new cases 16 are imported and nine are local transmissions.

Mongolia

Mongolia reported four more COVID-19 recoveries in the last 24 hours, taking its total recoveries to 276, the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said Sunday.

The recovered are servicemen of the Mongolian Armed Forces who returned home from Afghanistan on a chartered flight in mid-July, the NCCD said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Asian country conducted 627 tests for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, all of which showed negative results.

Nepal

Nepal has recorded over 100 deaths from COVID-19 so far, according to Nepal's Ministry of Health and Population on Saturday.

"Death toll from the pandemic reached 102 after three new deaths were reported in the last 24 hours," Jageshwor Gautam, spokesperson at the ministry told Xinhua on Saturday.

After a lockdown was lifted on July 22 allowing almost all economic and social activities to operate largely without restrictions, death toll also started to climb rapidly along with resurging in COVID-19 cases.

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New Zealand

New Zealand reported 13 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, said Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield from New Zealand Ministry of Health.

Of these cases, 12 were from the community in Auckland and one was from a managed isolation facility.

The 13 new cases brought the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in New Zealand to 1,271, which was the number the country reported to the World Health Organization.

Palestine

Palestine reported 498 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally of infections in the Palestinian territories to 21,554, including 12,908 recoveries and 119 deaths.

Qatar

The Qatari health ministry announced 277 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 114,809.

Meanwhile, 247 more recovered from the virus, bringing the total recoveries to 111,505, while the death toll increased by two to 192.

Saudi Arabia

Students at Saudi Arabia’s public schools will be educated via distance learning as a precaution against coronavirus for the first seven weeks of the new term, which begins on Aug. 30, the minister of education said on Saturday.

Saudi Arabia registered 1,413 new coronavirus cases, increasing the accumulated infections to 297,315 while the death toll reached 3,369 with the registration of 31 fatalities in the last 24 hours.

Singapore

The number of sailors who have tested positive for the virus has increased to 15 since the first confirmed case was reported Aug. 12 on the ship that arrived earlier this month needing repairs and refueling. The infected crew has been sent for medical care, while the remaining members are quarantined on board the vessel, the Port Authority said in a statement.

Singapore reported 86 new cases on Sunday, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 55,747.

South Korea

South Korea accused the leader of a religious sect on Sunday of violating self-isolation rules and obstructing investigations into the country’s biggest outbreak of new coronavirus in five months.

South Korea on Sunday reported 279 new cases on Sunday, more than double the 103 reported on Friday, with most of the new infections found in and around Seoul.

The capital posted a record 146 new cases, out of which 107 were linked to Sarang Jeil Church led by Rev. Jun Kwang-hoon, a controversial pastor and an outspoken government critic.

The health ministry said it will file a complaint against Jun later on Sunday, accusing him of violating self-isolation rules by participating in a rally on Saturday and “obstructing” epidemiological investigation by failing to submit a full list of church members for testing and tracing.

The Philippines

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines surged to 161,253 as the Department of Health (DOH) reported 3,420 new daily cases on Sunday.

The number of recoveries rose to 112,586 after 40,397 more patients recovered, the DOH said. The death toll also increased to 2,665 after 65 more patients died.

Metro Manila topped the five regions or provinces with the highest number of daily confirmed cases reported on Sunday with 2,091, followed by Laguna province

Turkey

Turkey reported 1,256 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total diagnosed cases to 248,117. Meanwhile, 21 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 5,955.

UAE

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced 283 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 64,102.

UAE's Ministry of Health and Prevention said in a statement that 98 more patients have recovered from the virus, taking the tally of recoveries to 57,571. It also confirmed two more deaths, pushing the country's death toll to 361.