Iranians walk along the artificial Chitgar lake in the capital Tehran, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis on October 3, 2020. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

JERUSALEM / ADEN / RAMALLAH / TEHRAN - Iran reported its deadliest day of the outbreak to date with 239 fatalities in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 27,658. Data show the virus is spreading rapidly in the Middle East’s worst-hit nation. 

Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told state TV that there were 4,019 new cases, with the total of identified cases in the worst-hit country in the Middle East rising to 483,844.

Iran has had an average of 3,803 daily new cases in the past seven days, up significantly from an average of 1,942 cases per day in the first week of September.

Japan

Japan's "Go To Travel" campaign has run into trouble and may take more time to swing into full gear as a recent resurgence of the pandemic makes people hesitate. 

Since the beginning of July, the epidemic has rebounded in some parts of the country. In particular, the number of daily new infections in Tokyo has been on the rise.

With the situation, some experts and the public have expressed deep concern about the nationwide tourism promotion campaign, fearing that the mass movement of people would lead to a wide spread of the virus. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, alongside other government officials, have made clear their objections.

Thailand

Thailand's Interior Ministry on Wednesday ordered tighter border security to contain COVID-19 outbreak.

Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda said, "What we (Thailand) are afraid most is possible second wave infections coming from illegal migrants who may have contracted COVID-19."

"Thai borders with neighboring countries consist of porous jungles and illegal migrant workers can easily slip through the jungle border without anyone noticing," said the interior minister.

The total infections in Thailand to date are 3,615, of which 3,391 people have recovered from the virus and 165 are still being treated in hospital.

Residents wearing masks arrive to get their temperature checked at a mobile clinic after authorities eased restrictions imposed as a preventive measure against the spread of the COVID-19, in Chennai on June 16, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

India

 India reported 72,049 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, dropping from the daily highs of last month in a sign infections were peaking for now, officials and experts said.

India leads the world in the average number of new infections and is expected to overtake the United States over the next several weeks as the country with the world’s largest number of cases.

But since it hit a single-day high of 97,894 new cases on Sept 17, the country has reported a downward trend with 75,909 daily cases on an average, according to a Reuters tally.

“There is a continuous drop in our daily new cases, which is an encouraging sign,” said health secretary Rajesh Bhushan. The overall tally reached 6.76 million infections on Wednesday while the death toll rose by 986 to 104,555.

Faced with a collapsing economy, the federal government has been pushing states to fully reopen after enforcing one of the world’s strictest lockdowns in March.

Experts said the opening up led to a spike in cases in August and September, which now may have started to stabilise in the big cities.

The Philippines

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines surged to 329,637 after the Health Ministry reported 2,825 new cases on Wednesday.

The ministry said the number of recoveries rose to 273,723 after 437 more patients recovered from the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, the death toll rose to 5,925 with 60 deaths newly reported.

The capital region Metro Manila topped the regions with a highest number of daily confirmed cases of 1,031 on Wednesday.

The ministry said that over 3.73 million people have been tested so far in the southeastern Asian country of a population of about 109 million.  

Australia

Australia’s city of Melbourne, capital of the coronavirus hotspot state of Victoria, on Wednesday reported the lowest two-week average of new cases after a second contagion wave that led to one of the world’s toughest lockdowns.

For the first time since the second coronavirus outbreak caused more than 800 deaths in the state - more than 90% of the country’s 897 virus-related deaths - the two-week average has fallen below 10.

The metric is key as officials in the second-most-populous state are reluctant to ease mobility restrictions until the rolling average in the two-week window falls below five.

“The strategy is working,” premier Daniel Andrews told reporters at his daily briefing. “Its success is pinned ultimately to whether symptomatic people come forward and get tested.”

Australia has so far reported more than 27,000 COVID-19 cases, with Victoria accounting for about 75% of infections. In the previous 24 hours, the state had found six new cases and reported two more deaths, Andrews said.

In the neighboring New South Wales (NSW) state, the most populous, officials found three new locally transmitted infections overnight, putting an end to a 11-day run of zero such cases.

Indonesia

The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia increased by 4,538 in the past 24 hours to reach 315,714 in total, with the death toll adding by 98 to 11,472, the Health Ministry said.

According to the ministry, 3,854 more people were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recoveries to 240,291.

Indonesia seeks to secure vaccines from AstraZeneca Plc, part of its plan to procure doses from overseas while ramping up local output to inoculate its more than 270 million people.

The country’s foreign and state-owned enterprises ministries are in talks with the U.K.-based company, Research and Technology Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro, who leads the nation’s vaccine task force, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Yvonne Man.

Indonesia remains under the grip of the coronavirus pandemic with the number of cases tripling to more than 300,000 since the end of July. More than 11,000 people have died from the disease. While the government has allocated nearly US$50 billion toward fighting the pandemic and mitigating its impact, that’s unlikely to stop the economy from tipping into a second straight quarter of contraction.

The government seeks to get effective vaccines as soon as possible by securing deals with China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and the United Arab Emirates’ G42 Healthcare, but it’s also looking to supplement that by producing enough doses locally for a population that’s the world’s fourth largest.

“Indonesia needs to have some independence in vaccine production,” Brodjonegoro said.

 An Indonesian seaman bust out of a South Korean quarantine facility by breaking through a wall a day before he was due to complete a mandatory two weeks in isolation, a health official said on Wednesday.

“The person had tested negative for coronavirus and showed no symptoms during the isolation period,” health ministry spokesman Son Young-rae told reporters.

Authorities suspected the man, who had entered the country on a ship crew visa, intended to illegally stay in South Korea, as there had been several similar incidents involving Vietnamese nationals in recent month, officials said.

Every person arriving in South Korea from overseas is required to undergo two weeks of isolation to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus regardless of whether they have COVID-19 symptoms.

Members of the media wearing face masks look at an exhibition at the Royal Hall of Industries in Sydney on Sept 17, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

Vietnam

Vietnam reported a new case of COVID-19 infection on Wednesday, bringing its total confirmed cases to 1,099 with 35 deaths from the disease so far, according to its Ministry of Health.

The latest case is a 28-year-old Vietnamese woman who has recently entered the country from abroad and was quarantined upon arrival, according to the ministry.

The ministry also announced that 1,023 COVID-19 patients have been given all-clear as of Wednesday.

Israel

Israel’s Ministry of Health reported 4,717 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the total infections in the country to 277,026.

Israel's death toll from the virus rose by 40 to 1,797, while the number of patients in serious condition remained unchanged at 880, out of 1,604 patients currently hospitalized.

The number of recoveries in Israel soared to 211,397 after 7,042 new recoveries were confirmed, while active cases stood at 63,832.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took for the first time the rapid coronavirus test "Sofia" and was diagnosed negative, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office.

These rapid test kits, produced by the US company Quidel, can provide results within 15 minutes. They were purchased for wide use in Israel.

In the first phase, starting on Tuesday, kits were put to use in the nursing homes across the country.

ALSO READ: Iran hits new virus record as lockdown returns to Tehran

Yemen

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Yemen's government-controlled provinces increased to 2,047 on Tuesday, as six new cases were officially confirmed.

The Yemeni Health Ministry said in a brief press statement that during the past 24 hours, the number of recoveries in the government-controlled areas increased to 1,327 since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus on April 10.

Also, the government announced that the death toll from the deadly respiratory disease climbed to 593 in different areas under its control, including the southern port city of Aden.

The Yemeni government called on donors and relevant international humanitarian organizations to provide support to help contain the pandemic.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi group seized control of much of the country's north and forced the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of Sanaa.

Palestine

Palestine on Tuesday recorded 10 new COVID-19 deaths and 475 new cases, bringing the death toll to 412 and the total number of infections to 53,429.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian health ministry said the recovery rate reached 84.9 percent and the rate of active cases hit 14.3 percent.

Palestine currently has 7,285 active cases, according to the ministry. 

Jordan

Jordan will impose a 48-hour curfew across the country as of Thursday midnight amid surge in coronavirus cases.

Director of the Coronavirus Crisis Management Cell Mazen Faraya on Tuesday said that citizens are not allowed to go out during the curfew hours, excluding epidemiological investigation teams, medical staff, and a few employees necessary to sustain the work of vital sectors and institutions.

He added that the army would be deployed across the country to enforce and monitor the curfew amid the rising number of local infections.

The Jordanian government also announced that classes at all schools nationwide will be suspended as of Friday until further notice and that education at public and private universities will be online.

Also, Health Minister Saad Jaber said 12 COVID-19 deaths and 1,537 coronavirus cases were reported on Tuesday, raising the death toll to 122 and the tally of confirmed cases to 19,001.

Jaber added that 94 recoveries were registered on Tuesday, bringing the total number of recoveries to 5,386.

Turkey

Turkey reported 1,511 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, raising the total tally in the country to 327,557.

In addition, 55 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 8,553, while 1,229 more patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 287,599, according to the Health Ministry.

The rate of pneumonia in COVID-19 patients is 6.2 percent and the number of seriously ill patients is 1,414, the ministry said.

Turkish health professionals conducted 112,421 tests in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall number of tests to 11,044,338.

Kuwait

Kuwait on Wednesday reported 475 new COVID-19 cases and seven more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 108,743 and the death toll to 639, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

Currently, 7,328 patients are receiving treatment, including 127 in ICU, according to the statement.

The ministry also announced the recovery of 597 more patients, raising the total recoveries in the country to 100,776.

On Sept. 14, the Kuwaiti government decided to postpone the fifth phase of a plan to return to normal until further notice.

Singapore

Singapore will set up a COVID-19 test laboratory in the Changi Airport in the next few months as part of the efforts to reopen its borders to international visitors and revive its aviation industry, Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said Tuesday.

Speaking in parliament in a ministerial statement, Ong said COVID-19 testing is key to unlocking air travel, adding that COVID-19 is expected to persist for some time, and the emerging international practice is to test travelers before they board a plane.

On a selective basis, Singapore can open up its border, do away with a 14-day stay-home notice, which is a big deterrent to travel, and replace them with tests, he said.

Currently the city state can test 27,000 people daily of the coronavirus, which is estimated to rise to 40,000 per day by November, Ong said.

In addition to the reciprocal fast lane which is limited to official and business travelers, Singapore is looking to form air travel bubbles with safe countries and regions that have comprehensive public health surveillance systems and low infection rates, said the minister.

The bubbles will be open to everyone, but such travelers must apply for air travel passes before their journeys, he added.

The Changi Airport is now serving just 1.5 percent of its usual passenger volume of the pre-pandemic times and 17 percent of the total number of flights, Ong said.

It has also dropped to the 58th busiest airport for passenger traffic, down from the seventh in the world, he added.

READ MORE: Lebanon's hospitals on the brink as COVID-19 cases surge

The United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday announced 1,061 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 100,794.

At the same time, 1,146 more patients have recovered from the virus, taking the tally of recoveries in the UAE to 90,556, UAE's Ministry of Health and Prevention said.

It also confirmed six more deaths, pushing the country's death toll to 435.

New Zealand

New Zealand reported three new imported cases of COVID-19, with all the community cases eliminated as the country's largest city Auckland returns to Alert Level 1, the lowest epidemic level, at midnight Wednesday.

Wednesday's first two cases arrived from Ethiopia via Dubai on Sept. 23. They have been in managed isolation at the Ibis in Hamilton, close to Auckland, and tested positive at routine testing around the 12th day of their stay, according to the Ministry of Health.

The third case arrived from Dubai on Sept. 29 before was being put in managed isolation at the Four Points Hotel. The case have been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility upon returning a positive test result, said a ministry statement.

The country's total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases reported to the World Health Organization is 1,505.

Nine previously reported cases have recovered, including the six remaining active cases from the recent community outbreak, it said.

South Korea

South Korea reported 114 more cases of the COVID-19 as of Wednesday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 24,353.

The daily caseload rose above 100 in seven days due to small cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province.

Of the new cases, 29 were Seoul residents and 49 were people residing in Gyeonggi province. Twenty were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 3,325.

Three more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 425. The total fatality rate stood at 1.75 percent.

A total of 251 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 22,334. The total recovery rate was 91.71 percent.

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan's tally of COVID-19 has reached 48,097 after 298 new cases were added on Wednesday, authorities said.

The country's death toll also rose to 1,069 after three more fatalities were registered over the past 24 hours.

The Republican Headquarters for Combating COVID-19 reported that 154 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, raising the number of nationwide recoveries to 43,798.

Currently, 1,325 patients are receiving treatment in hospital, while 1,450 are recovering at home.

According to the headquarters, the current recovery rate of COVID-19 in Kyrgyzstan is 91.0 percent, while the fatality rate is 2.2 percent.

Afghanistan 

Afghanistan reported 62 new COVID-19 cases within the past 24 hours on Wednesday, bringing the tally to 39,548, the country's Ministry of Public Health confirmed.

”During the past 24 hours, 370 suspected cases were tested, out of which 62 cases were tested coronavirus positive in eight provinces of the country's 34 provinces," the ministry said in a statement.

Two COVID-19 patients succumbed to the virus, taking the number of people who lost their lives to 1,469 since the outbreak of the pandemic in February.

The number of people recovered stood at 33,045 after 68 patients recovered during the period.

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The Maldives

The Maldives has extended the ongoing State of Public Health Emergency until Nov. 6 as six additional islands have been placed under monitoring for COVID-19, local media reported on Wednesday.

State-owned Public Service Media (PSM) reported that a circular signed by acting Minister of Health Mohamed Aslam confirmed the extension of the State of Public Health Emergency which was first announced on March 12.

According to local law, a State of Public Health Emergency grants the director general of public health additional powers to isolate and quarantine individuals as well as take swift action in the event of a public health crisis.

Six islands in the Maldives have been placed under monitoring after a police officer in Kulhudhuffushi City tested positive for COVID-19 and was found to have traveled to Baarah, Dhidhdhoo, and Hoarafushi in Haa Alifu Atoll, Kurinbee in Haa Dhaalu Atoll, and Funadhoo in Shaviyani Atoll.

According to the Health Protection Agency (HPA), 54 new COVID-19 cases were detected in Maldives on Tuesday, raising the total case count to 10,621.

Lebanon 

Caretaker Lebanese Health Minister Hamad Hassan said on Wednesday that the number of beds will increase in seven public hospitals in Beirut, Mount Lebanon and the north in 10 days to receive more COVID-19 patients amid rising daily cases, Elnashra news website reported.

The number of hospital beds will also increase in three weeks in West Bekaa and the south for the same purpose, Hassan added.

Hassan's remarks came during his meeting with the country's committee in charge of fighting COVID-19.

The health ministry and the army, which have received foreign medical donations in the past couple of months, will distribute ventilators to hospitals, he noted.

Lebanon has seen a remarkable increase in daily COVID-19 cases in the past month. The daily death toll also increased compared to the number in the early stage of the outbreak. 

Lebanon has so far reported more than 46,000 COVID-19 cases with 424 deaths, according to the health ministry. 

Doctors work at Pertamina Simprug hospital designated to treat COVID-19 patients in Jakarta on Sept 25, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

Malaysia 

Malaysia reported on Wednesday 489 new coronavirus cases, a slight dip in new daily cases detected as the Southeast Asian country grapples with a fresh surge in infections.

The new cases raises the cumulative tally to 13,993, according to Malaysia’s health ministry. No new deaths were reported, keeping the toll at 141.

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has tested negative for the novel coronavirus, his office said on Wednesday, after a minister who attended a high-level meeting chaired by the premier on Saturday contracted the virus.

Bangladesh 

The Bangladeshi government has decided to cancel one of the country's major public examinations this year amid COVID-19 fears.

Bangladesh recorded 1,520 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 35 more deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total tally to 373,151 with 5,440 deaths, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.

The official data showed that 13,032 samples were tested in the last 24 hours across Bangladesh.

The total number of recovered patients reached 286,631, including 1,798 new recoveries on Wednesday, said the DGHS.

According to the official data, the COVID-19 fatality rate in Bangladesh is now 1.46 percent and the current recovery rate is 76.81 percent.

Sri Lanka

The Sri Lanka Police on Wednesday launched a manhunt to track down a COVID-19 infected patient who had escaped from a hospital on the outskirts of capital Colombo, police said.

According to the police, the patient was being treated for COVID-19 at the Colombo North Teaching Hospital in Ragama after his PCR test conducted Tuesday night confirmed he was infected with the COVID-19.

Local media reported that the hospital had received his results on Wednesday morning, when the patient had escaped.