A health worker conducts a nasal swab during a COVID-19 coronavirus screening for frontline civic staff in Mumbai on Sept 10, 2020. (INDRANIL MUKHERJEE / AFP)

SYDNEY / ANKARA / DUBAI / JERUSALEM / MANILA / BANGKOK / MUMBAI / KABUL - India’s biggest and richest state, Maharashtra, is set to record its millionth infection of the new coronavirus on Friday, putting it on par with Russia in the pandemic and stifling India’s attempts to turn around an economic plummet.

The western state, home to financial capital Mumbai, is on pace to blow past the 1 million mark as infections have been rising some 20,000 a day recently. Maharashtra, if it were a country, would now rival Russia for the world’s fourth-highest caseload.

The spike in the state of 130 million people is the vanguard for India’s breathtaking COVID-19 surge, accounting for nearly one-quarter of the national total. India is likely to hit 5 million cases in coming days, behind only to the United States.

With the virus surging unabated through Maharashtra’s urban and rural areas and state authorities struggling to curb COVID-19 deaths, Prime Minister Prime Minister Narendra Modi is hamstrung in trying to revive an economy that shrivelled 23.9 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier.

Yet Maharashtra’s authorities are unable to ease many restrictions in the state. Public transport, malls and other businesses remain depressed even as the rest of India slowly gets back to business.

Meanwhile, The results of India’s first nationwide serological survey suggests that more than six million people were infected with the coronavirus as early as May, which would place the country well ahead of the current official tally in the US.

The survey enrolled 28,000 individuals across 70 districts in 21 of India’s 29 states. The study was conducted from May 11 to June 4. The number of infections is an estimate, extrapolating the results of the study to encompass the entire population.

“The findings of the first national population-based serosurvey indicated that 0.73 percent of adults in India were exposed to SARS-CoV-2 infection, amounting to 6.4 million infections in total by early May 2020,” the Indian Council of Medical Research said in its survey note.

The findings in one of the only nationwide serological surveys that’s been conducted confirm suspicions that infections are being vastly under-counted, especially in places where testing is inadequate like India and the US Experts also believe that the death toll from the coronavirus is far higher than the over 900,000 that have been reported.

Australia

Australia’s state leaders on Friday defended regional shutdowns and internal border closures against increased federal government pressure for restrictive coronavirus measures to be lifted as new case numbers ease.

Victoria state, which is at the centre of the country’s coronavirus outbreak, on Friday reported 43 new cases and nine deaths from the virus in the last 24 hours.

Australia’s second-most populous state a day earlier reported 51 new cases and seven deaths.

Victoria, home to one-quarter of Australia’s 25 million population, now accounts for about 75 percent of the country’s more than 26,500 COVID-19 cases and 90% of its 797 deaths.

A flare-up in cases forced the Victoria government to put the state into a hard lockdown in early August. But it has helped to bring down the daily rise in infections to double digits in recent days after it touched highs of more than 700.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan's Public Health Ministry registered 34 new COVID-19 positive cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 38,606 since the outbreak of the virus in February in the country, a statement of the ministry said on Friday.

According to the statement, no COVID-19 related death has been reported over the period.

Cambodia 

Mosques in Cambodia reopened their doors to worshippers on Friday after a six-month closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health Minister Mam Bunheng said in an earlier statement that the mosques are allowed to reopen every Friday for the first four weeks before going daily if the situation of COVID-19 remains under control.

He said worshippers must strictly follow the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health.

Iran

The tally of COVID-19 cases in Iran surged to 395,488 on Thursday with overnight registration of 2,063 new infections. 

Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said that 129 more people died from the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 22,798 in the country.

She added that so far 340,842 people have recovered from the infectious disease in Iran, while 3,728 remain in critical condition.

Iraq

In Iraq, the health ministry reported 4,597 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, raising the total number of infections in the country to 278,418.

It also said that 82 more patients died from the disease, raising the death toll to 7,814, while the tally of recoveries climbed to 213,817 after 3,824 more patients recovered.

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A member of the Magen David Adom national emergency medical service performs a swab sample test for COVID-19 through the window of a vehicle at a drive-through testing station in the Druze village of Buq'ata in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights on Sept 10, 2020. （JALAA MAREY / AFP）

Israel 

Israel on Thursday reported 4,429 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily increase since the pandemic outbreak in March, raising the tally of infections to 145,526. The deal toll increased by 23 to 1,077, while the total recoveries rose by 1,588 to 109,942.

Israel's Corona Cabinet has decided to impose full nationwide closure starting next week, following the soar in COVID-19 morbidity, the state's Prime Minister's Office and Health Ministry said in a joint statement on Thursday night.

The start date of the closure will be decided by the government on Sunday, and it will be the first stage in a three-stage plan aimed to lower the morbidity data.

The closure is supposed to include the upcoming period of Jewish holidays, between the Jewish New Year's Eve on Sept. 18 and Oct 10.

According to the statement, the second and third stages will take effect only after morbidity is decreased in previous stages.

The closure will include a 500-meter distance limit from home, and the closure of schools, kindergartens, restaurants, hotels, culture and entertainment places, and shops, except for supermarkets and pharmacies.

Japan

The Japanese government is planning to have testing centers for coronavirus in nightlife districts across the nation in a bid to prevent flareups, Yomiuri reported, without saying who provided the information. Areas to be targeted include bar districts in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo and Fukuoka.

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan's health authorities announced Friday the recovery of 40,631 COVID-19 patients or 90.7 percent of all the infections since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, including 144 people in the last 24 hours.

Ainura Akmatova, head of the Public Health Department of the Ministry of Health of Kyrgyzstan, told a briefing that 77 new COVID-19 cases have been registered over the past day, raising the nationwide tally to 44,761.

Kuwait

Kuwait on Friday reported 653 new COVID-19 cases and one more death, raising the tally of infections to 93,475 and the death toll to 557, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

Currently, 9,258 patients are receiving treatment, including 97 in ICU, according to the statement.

Mongolia

Mongolia reported one more COVID-19 case in the last 24 hours, bringing its national caseload to 311, the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said Friday.

Oman

In Oman, 398 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed on Thursday, raising the total infections in the sultanate to 88,337, while the death toll rose by 11 to 762 and the tally of recoveries increased by 219 to 83,325.

Pakistan

Pakistan recorded 548 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the overall count to 300,371, according to the data updated by the country's health ministry on Friday morning.

The country also recorded five fatalities over the last 24 hours, taking the nationwide death toll to 6,370.

According to the statistics, the country's southern Sindh province is the most affected region with 131,404 cases followed by eastern Punjab province with 97,533 cases.

Palestine

Palestine reported 1,000 new COVID-19 infections, a new record in daily spike in coronavirus infections, pushing the tally of confirmed cases to 37,214, including 224 deaths and 25,483 recoveries.

Qatar

Qatar's Health Ministry confirmed 206 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 121,052, including 205 deaths and 117,978 recoveries.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia reported 708 more COVID-19 cases and 24 new deaths from the virus on Thursday, taking the total infections in the kingdom to 323,720 and the death toll to 4,189.

The total number of recoveries in Saudi Arabia rose to 299,998 after 1,032 more patients recovered from the disease. There are currently 19,533 active COVID-19 cases, including 1,363 in critical condition.

The numbers had steadily dropped to their early 100s since the government imposed unprecedented social distancing curbs late last month, but showed a resurge this week even as less cases arose from the church and the protesters.

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This file photo taken on March 16, 2020 shows Singapore Airlines planes parked on the tarmac at Changi International Airport in Singapore. (PHOTO / AFP)

Singapore

Singapore and Japan will begin a reciprocal green lane for business and official travel on Sept 18, according to a joint government press statement.

Safeguards will include pre-departure and post-arrival testing as well as a controlled itinerary for the first 14 days in the receiving country.

Singapore reported its 18th new virus cluster in dormitories for migrant workers in less than three weeks, signaling a setback in the city-state’s strategy for containing the coronavirus outbreak by mass testing them and restricting their movements.

Two new clusters linked to previous cases were identified at dormitories where 55 of the nation’s 63 latest COVID-19 cases were confirmed on Thursday, according to a statement from the Ministry of Health.

South Ｋorea

South Korea posted a slight uptick in the daily number of its coronavirus cases on Friday even as infections from a church and a political rally that sparked a second wave of outbreaks ease.

The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 176 new cases as of midnight Thursday, which brought the total infections to 21,919, with 350 deaths.

A fresh wave of infections erupted at a church whose members attended a large protest in downtown Seoul last month have driven the daily tally to its peak in months at 441.

Thailand

Authorities in Thailand tightened security on Friday along its border with Myanmar and carried out COVID-19 tests in nearby towns to try to keep the virus out, as Myanmar tackles a surge in cases amid a second wave of infections.

Both countries have so far been spared the major outbreaks seen elsewhere in Asia, but Myanmar’s quadrupling of its cases to 2,265 in less than a month has put Thailand on the alert.

Military personnel laid out reams of coiled razor wire through forest along the porous frontier to deter illegal entry into Thailand, where several million Myanmar nationals work.

Thailand is determined to keep the virus at bay and has sealed off the country to all but returning Thai nationals and approved foreigners, who must all undergo quarantine.

The vast majority of Thailand’s 3,461 cases have long recovered and until last week, it had been more than three months without a domestic case.

A worker (center) walks past empty check-in counters at the airport in Manila on August 4, 2020, after all domestic flights were cancelled following new restrictions to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. (PHOTO / AFP)

The Philippines

The Philippines has eased distancing rules in public transport, allowing trains and planes to have more passengers amid the region’s worst coronavirus outbreak, the Department of Transportation said.

The agency and economic managers’ proposal to increase public transport ridership and accommodate more people going back to work was approved by the government’s coronavirus task force, Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade said in a statement Friday.

The Philippines has signed confidentiality agreements with five foreign drugmakers, including a manufacturer from Taiwan and a second one from Chinese mainland, to begin talks for potential Covid-19 vaccine supplies, according to a CNN Philippines report.

The Philippines will also have access to potential COVID-19 vaccines being developed by US firms without any strings attached, the health ministry said, after the presidential spokesman had linked the pardoning of a US Marine to ensuring access.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines surged to 252,964 after the Department of Health reported 4,040 new cases on Friday.

The UAE

The United Arab Emirates announced 930 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 76,911. The death toll rose by five to 398, while the tally of recoveries increased by 586 to 67,945.

Turkey

Turkey on Thursday confirmed 1,512 new coronavirus infections and 58 more deaths, pushing the tally of confirmed cases in the country to 286,455 and the death toll to 6,895.

Turkey is considering a request from Russia to conduct Phase III trials of Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Thursday, adding a decision would be made in the next week.

Vietnam

Vietnam reported one new case of COVID-19 infection on Friday, bringing its total confirmed cases to 1,060 with 35 deaths from the disease so far, according to its Ministry of Health.

The new case is a 21-year-old man recently returning to the country from abroad and being quarantined upon arrival, said the ministry.

The ministry also announced that nine more COVID-19 patients have been given all-clear, raising the total cured cases in the country to 902 as of Friday.

Meanwhile nearly 35,800 people are being quarantined and monitored in the country, according to the ministry.