A technician demonstrates on an airport staffer how samples are taken, at a new on-site COVID-19 testing facility at Tel Aviv International Airport in Israel, Nov 9, 2020. (MAYA ALLERUZZO / AP)
DUBAI / ANKARA / SYDNEY / JERUSALEM / SEOUL / MANILA / KABUL / BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / HANOI / BANGKOK / TOKYO / BAGHDAD / YANGON - Israel said on Monday it would test people arriving from Denmark for a new mutated strain of coronavirus stemming from Danish mink farms, and ask them to self-isolate.
The health ministry issued the statement after unconfirmed reports by N12 News and other media that three Israelis returning from Denmark were suspected of having been infected with the new strain.
Israel will be testing people arriving from Denmark for a new mutated strain of coronavirus stemming from Danish mink farms, the health ministry said, adding that Denmark has been added to the list of "red countries"
Denmark has been added to the list of "red countries" from which all passengers are required to quarantine upon arrival, the ministry said.
Israel has reported more than 300,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 2,674 deaths.
Minister of Regional Cooperation, Ofir Akunis, has tested positive for the COVID-19, according to a statement by Akunis' spokesperson Monday.
On Sunday, an Israeli testing company, Omega, said the setup of a virus testing laboratory at Ben Gurion International Airport, near the coastal city of Tel Aviv, has been completed. The lab, which will be launched Monday.
The samples will be taken at test booths set up at Terminal 3, the airport's main terminal.
The prices of the PCR tests will be 135 new shekels (around US$40) for a rapid test, with results given in four hours, and 44.88 shekels for a standard 14-hour test.
Passengers who register in advance will be able to take the test without leaving their cars, in a designated drive-in complex set up at the airport.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan's COVID-19 death toll rose to 1,574 after 12 more deaths were registered in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Public Health reported on Monday.
Health authorities also confirmed 138 new cases, bringing the tally to 42,297, including 6,002 active cases, the ministry said in a statement.
A total of 263 patients have been discharged from hospitals after recovery since early Sunday, according to the ministry.
Australia
A leading Australian psychiatrist has warned that Australia is facing a second wave of coronavirus-linked mental health cases.
Patrick McGorry, who was named Australian of the Year in 2010 for his services to youth mental health, wrote in an editorial in the Medical Journal of Australia on Monday that Australia was not equipped to respond to the mental health impacts of the pandemic.
New Year's Eve fireworks over Sydney Harbour will go ahead this year but will be shortened to just a few minutes and the city precinct will be restricted to those with restaurant, cafe and hotel bookings in order to limit the spread of COVID-19
As of Monday afternoon, there had been 27,668 confirmed cases in Australia after 10 new cases were registered, , according to the latest figures from the federal health ministry.
New Year's Eve fireworks over Sydney Harbour will go ahead this year but will be shortened to just a few minutes and the city precinct will be restricted to those with restaurant, cafe and hotel bookings in order to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Prime harbourside spots, normally coveted by thousands of revellers to watch the traditional 12-minute pyrotechnic display, will be set aside for health workers who have been treating COVID-19 patients and firefighters.
Meanwhile, Australia commenced locally manufacturing a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by the University of Oxford from Monday, with roughly 30 million doses planned to be made.
Despite still undergoing clinical trials, the vaccine, which was co-developed by pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, is considered one of the more promising vaccines globally.
Australian biotech firm CSL has agreements with AstraZeneca and the Australian government to begin pre-emptive production of the vaccine, for release during the first half of 2021 should remaining tests prove successful.
Bangladesh
Amid fears of a second COVID-19 wave during winter, the Bangladeshi government has once again ordered everyone to strictly adhere to the madnatory rule of mask wearing in all places of worship, including masjids, temples and churches.
The fresh order was announced in a notification on Sunday.
Since March, the Ministry of Religion Affairs had issued several notices in past months stating that it was mandatory to wear masks in all places of worship to halt the spread of COVID-19. However, the ministry noted in the notification with grave concern that the rule had not been strictly adhered to.
Bangladesh reported 1,683 new COVID-19 cases and 25 more deaths on Monday, taking the tally at 421,921 and death toll at 6,092 the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.
Brunei
Brunei reported no new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, the 18th consecutive day with no newly reported infections since Oct 22.
The tally remains at 148, including three deaths.
According to the Ministry of Health, there is no active case being treated at the National Isolation Center.
Cambodia
Cambodia reported two imported COVID-19 cases, the Ministry of Health (MoH) spokeswoman said in a press statement on Monday.
The patients, aged 29 and 38, arrived in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh on Oct. 26 from Japan via a connecting flight in South Korea, said MoH secretary of state and spokeswoman Or Vandine.
"On the 13th day of the quarantine, their samples were taken for a second test and the results showed (on Sunday) that they turned out to be positive for COVID-19," she said. "Currently they are undergoing treatment at the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital."
India
India's COVID-19 tally reached 8,553,657 on Monday as 45,903 new cases were registered across the country in the past 24 hours, said the latest data released by the federal health ministry.
With 490 deaths since Sunday morning, the death toll in the country due to the pandemic reached 126,611, showed the ministry's data.
Still there are 509,673 active COVID-19 cases in the country, while 7,917,373 people have been cured and discharged from hospitals so far.
READ MORE: India's coronavirus cases near 8.5 million
Till Sunday a total of 118,572,192 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the country, out of which 835,401 tests were conducted on Sunday alone, revealed the data from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Monday.
The capital city New Delhi has been witnessing a spurt in COVID-19 cases over the past couple of weeks, which was termed as the third wave for Delhi.
Indonesia
Indonesia reported 2,853 new coronavirus infections on Monday, taking the total number of cases to 440,569, data from the country's COVID-19 task force showed. It also reported 75 more deaths, taking total fatalities to 14,689.
Overall, 372,266 people have recovered from the virus, it said.
Iran
Iran's health ministry reported on Monday a rise of 10,463 in the number of daily coronavirus cases, bringing the infection tally in the Middle East's worst-affected country to 692,949.
A spokeswoman for the ministry, Sima Sadat Lari, told state TV that 458 people had died from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, pushing the death toll to 38,749.
Starting on Tuesday, for one month, all non-essential businesses must close at 6 pm, Iranian media reported.
Some hospitals have run out of beds to treat new patients, Nader Tavakkoli, a member of Iran's national coronavirus taskforce told the ISNA news agency.
"We should have a temporary phase of two weeks closure in Tehran to control the wave of the disease ... meanwhile we can get into planning," Tavakkoli said.
Iraq
The Iraqi Health Ministry on Monday said that the total number of COVID-19 infections in the country has risen to 501,733 after 3,184 new cases were reported.
The ministry said 53 more deaths and 3,305 more recoveries were also reported, raising the death toll to 11,380 and the total recoveries to 432,233.
Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi said in a press release that "Iraq is still in the danger zone of the coronavirus pandemic and we are facing great challenges in the health and economic fields."
Protective Services Officers patrol along Melbourne's St Kilda Beach on Nov 8, 2020. (WILLIAM WEST / AFP)
Japan
A Japanese government panel of coronavirus experts will seek new measures to tackle the coronavirus in Japan as infections in the country rise, Kyodo News reported.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said in his daily briefing Monday that infections are increasing across Japan.
The northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido reported 200 new daily cases, marking the highest level for the region since the outbreak of the virus in Japan, local officials said.
Monday's figure has seen the northern prefecture's cumulative total rise to 4,221, according to the latest figures released Monday evening, with health officials saying the drop in temperature and more people staying indoors in poorly ventilated rooms could be responsible for the spike in infections in Hokkaido and other northern regions in Japan.
In Tokyo, the hardest hit by the virus among all of Japan's 47 prefectures, 157 new daily cases were reported, while Osaka, the second hardest hit by the virus, posted 78 fresh cases.
Nationwide, 779 new daily infections were confirmed on Monday, bringing Japan's cumulative total to 109,280, not including those connected to a cruise ship quarantined near Tokyo earlier in the year. The toll stood at 1,849.
Jordan
Jordan reported another 52 COVID-19 deaths and 4,519 infections, bringing the death toll to 1,233 and total caseload to 109,321.
It said that the country has started implementing a plan to increase the number of hospital beds and intensive care units at several hospitals to deal with an increasing number of coronavirus cases.
Kuwait
Kuwait reported 538 new COVID-19 cases and three more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 131,743 and the death toll to 811 in the country.
The Kuwaiti health ministry also announced the recovery of 687 more patients, taking the total recoveries in the country to 122,576.
Lebanon
Lebanon reported 1,139 new COVID-19 cases and 10 more deaths, bringing the total infections to 94,236 and death toll to 723.
Malaysia
Malaysia's health ministry reported 972 new coronavirus cases on Monday, raising the total to 41,181 infections.
The Southeast Asian country also recorded eight more deaths, taking the total number of fatalities from the pandemic to 294.
READ MORE: Malaysia expands restrictions, closes schools as cases jump
The number of deaths due to COVID-19 in the Maldives has risen to 40, state media reported on Monday.
Maldives' 40th death due to COVID-19 occured on Sunday, alongside 24 new confirmed infections, raising the country's total case count to 11,986, according to the Health Protection Agency (HPA)
The HPA data showed that the Maldives has 847 active cases of COVID-19 spread across 14 inhabited islands and 26 resorts. Some 60 patients are currently hospitalised for treatment.
Mongolia
Mongolia's COVID-19 tally rose to 368 on Monday after six new cases were registered in the past 24 hours.
The latest confirmed cases were imported, the country's Health Ministry said in a statement.
Among all the confirmed cases, 318 patients have recovered, according to the ministry.
The Asian country has not seen a single COVID-19-related death so far.
Myanmar
The total number of COVID-19 cases in Myanmar has increased to 61,975 as of Monday, according to a release from the Ministry of Health and Sports.
A total of 598 newly confirmed cases were reported in the country, according to the release.
The death toll rose by 17 to 1,437, according to the release.
New Zealand
New Zealand reported four new cases of COVID-19 Monday, all detected in recent returnees in managed isolation facilities.
The first case arrived on Oct. 27 from Austria via Qatar and Australia.
The second and third cases traveled together, arriving in New Zealand on Nov. 5 from Dubai. They returned positive tests at routine day three testing, said a ministry statement.
The fourth case arrived on Nov. 5 from Qatar and also tested positive at the routine day 3 testing, it said.
These four people are now all in the Auckland quarantine facility.
One patient was recovered and currently the total number of active cases is 51. The country's total number of confirmed cases is 1,630, according to the ministry.
Oman
In Oman, the health ministry confirmed 973 new COVID-19 infections, raising the tally of confirmed cases in the Sultanate to 118,140.
The total number of recoveries in Oman rose to 108,681, while the death toll increased by 15 to 1,301, the ministry added.
Qatar
Qatar announced 190 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 134,203.
Meanwhile, 201 more recovered from the virus, bringing the overall recoveries in the Gulf state to 131,276, while the fatalities remained 232 for the 10th day running as no additional deaths were reported.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia recorded 363 new COVID-19 cases and 15 more deaths, taking the total infections in the kingdom to 350,592 and the death toll to 5,540.
The tally of recoveries in the kingdom rose by 420 to 337,386, the Saudi Health Ministry said.
A screen shows precautions against the coronavirus at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Nov 7, 2020. (PHOTO / AP)
South Korea
South Korea is expanding nationwide testing of all patients and workers at nursing homes and mental hospitals as health authorities look to stave off outbreaks at the high-risk facilities that have previously stymied the country’s efforts to contain the virus spread.
Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said it has tested patients and staffers at nearly 8,000 facilities in the greater Seoul and other metropolitan areas, and have detected 38 infections. The agency did not disclose exactly how many have been tested but said previously that more than 180,000 people could be tested, regardless of whether they had symptoms or were in contact with a confirmed case.
The Asian nation on Monday reported 126 new cases, down from 143 a day earlier.
Thailand
Thai health authorities said on Monday at a daily press briefing that some 290 people have had close contact with a confirmed case that was reported in the coastal province of Krabi.
The patient is an Indian man working in a restaurant in Krabi.
Among the 290 people, 79 were categorized as being at high risk, said Dr. Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Disease Control Department from the Ministry of Public Health.
The department said those in the low risk group were passengers on Air Asia flight FD3167 from Phuket to Chiang Mai on Oct 30, and those returning from Chiang Mai to Phuket on Air Asia's flight FD1968 on Nov 2.
Thailand has so far reported 3,840 confirmed cases nationwide, including 60 deaths.
The Philippines
The Philippines aims to have at least 50 million coronavirus vaccine shots next year to inoculate about a fourth of the population, bulk of which will likely arrive by the end of 2021 or early 2022
A vaccine could be available to the Southeast Asian nation between May through July, said Carlito Galvez, vaccine czar and chief implementer of policies to contain the outbreak. The government is evaluating 17 vaccines in various stages and in talks to source the supply to initially vaccinate 25 million people, he added.
The Philippines reported 108 additional deaths from COVID-19 on Monday, the highest daily death toll since Oct. 23, taking total fatalities to 7,647, the country's health ministry said.
The Department of Health also reported 2,058 new coronavirus infections, taking the total to 398,449, the second highest number in Southeast Asia.
The UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) reported 1,111 new coronavirus cases, raising the tally of infections to 142,143, while the death toll remained at 514. The total recoveries in the UAE rose by 683 to 138,291.
Turkey
Turkey's daily COVID-19 patients increased by 2,516, raising the total number in the country to 394,255, the Turkish Health Ministry announced.
The death toll in Turkey from the virus rose by 84 to 10,887, while the tally of recoveries increased by 2,018 to 338,239.
Vietnam
Vietnam recorded two newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing its tally to 1,215 with 35 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.
The fresh cases involved returning travelers who were in quarantine, said the ministry.
It added that 17 more patients have recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 1,087.
