A woman wearing a face mask (right) and a man wearing face masks walk near a monument dedicated to the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, along Enghelab Square, in the center of Iran's capital Tehran, on Nov 8, 2020. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

SYDNEY / SEOUL/ DUBAI / KUALA LUMPUR / HANOI / DHAKA / KABUL / KARACHI - Iran on Monday reported a record 13,053 new coronavirus infections and 486 deaths over the past 24 hours as the government planned tougher restrictions to curb the pandemic in the Middle East's worst-affected country.

Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told state TV that the country's tally had reached 775,121 while the death toll has risen to 41,979.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared "the general mobilization of the nation and the government" to confront the third wave of the coronavirus with infections and deaths rising at an alarming rate over the past few weeks

President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday declared "the general mobilization of the nation and the government" to confront the third wave of the coronavirus with infections and deaths rising at an alarming rate over the past few weeks.

The government said on Sunday tighter restrictions to be imposed in Tehran and some 100 other cities and towns from Nov 21 for two weeks will include the closure of non-essential businesses and services.

Some hospitals have run out of beds to treat new patients, health authorities were quoted as saying by Iranian state media.

Tehran City Council Chairman Mohsen Hashemi warned on Sunday that deaths could reach 1,000 a day in the capital in the coming weeks.

Myanmar

The number of COVID-19 cases in Myanmar increased to 70,161 Monday after 1,167 new cases were reported, according to a press release from the Ministry of Health and Sports.

The death toll rose by 22 to 1,599, according to the ministry.

Singapore

Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported on Monday five new COVID-19 cases, all of which were imported, bringing the tally in the country to 58,124 with 28 deaths.

Four more patients have been discharged from hospitals community isolation facilities, taking the number of recoveries to 58,033, the ministry said.

There were 40 patients in hospitals, the ministry said, adding that none of them were in critical condition.

Pakistan

Pakistan on Monday banned public political rallies after recording its highest daily coronavirus infections since July for four days running.

Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the ban, fearing hospitals will be overwhelmed as they were in June if people do not act responsibly.

There were 2,128 new cases registered on Sunday, the fourth day that the daily increase has been above 2,000.

“No one followed safety precautions, and we are seeing the results. It is high time people realize, or we will continue to suffer,” Dr Seemin Jamali, Executive Director of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, which deals with COVID-19 cases in the country’s largest city of Karachi, told Reuters.

After a peak of over 6,800 daily infections in June, the number fell to a low of 213 in August, and remained below 700 for most of the last three months.

The country has registered 359,032 cases in total and 7,160 deaths.

Domestic travelers wear face masks as they arrive at the Wellington International Airport on Aug 12, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

New Zealand

New Zealand has made masks mandatory from Thursday for users of public transport in Auckland as well as on all domestic flights, with authorities saying the time was right for such a move after a new coronavirus infection reported in the community.

Last week’s positive test in a student, after authorities had twice managed to almost stamp out community-transmitted COVID-19, was linked to a known case from a border isolation facility, suggesting less risk of a wider unseen spread.

“Adding mask-wearing to the toolbox of measures against the virus is a sensible precaution and the time is right to make the move,” Health Minister Chris Hipkins told a news conference on Monday.

The rules take effect on Thursday for travellers older than 12 on public transport in and out of Auckland. Taxi and Uber drivers must also wear masks, although their passengers have been exempted.

Also exempt are children going to and from school, Hipkins said, adding that police could enforce the rules as a last resort.

Last week, the government said it was also considering mandatory use of a COVID-tracing app before entry to large events and hospitality venues.

With 1,645 infections and 25 deaths, New Zealand ranks among the lowest in the world in terms of virus fallout.

Malaysia 

Malaysia has contacted ten manufacturers whose coronavirus vaccines are at phase 3 of the clinical trials, said Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin in parliament Monday.

Several negotiations have reached the final stage and an agreement will be reached soon.

Through COVAX, Malaysia will obtain enough vaccine for 10 percent of the population. The government is working on obtaining another 60 percent to enable herd immunity in the country. The country is working on getting access to the vaccines as early as the first or second quarter of next year.

Malaysia reported 1,103 fresh infections and four more deaths on Monday, raising the tally to 48,520 and the death toll to 313.

The government tightened movement curbs in an area where Top Glove Corp Bhd worker dormitories are located, to enable targeted virus screenings on workers and residents as infections rise, the security ministry said.

The curbs, in effect from Tuesday until the end of the month, will affect 13,190 workers and close to 1,200 residents in Klang, about 40 kilometers west of Kuala Lumpur, Senior Minister of Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob said at a media conference.

Afghanistan

The Afghan Public Health Ministry has registered 228 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the tally to 43,468, according to a statement released by the ministry on Monday.

The ministry also reported 15 more deaths, lifting the death toll to 1,632,

According to the statement, 44 more patients have recovered, bringing the number of recoveries to 35,136.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh reported 2,139 new COVID-19 cases and 21 additional deaths on Monday, taking the tally to 434,472 and the death toll to 6,215, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.

The number of recoveries rose by 1,604 to 351,146, said the DGHS.

According to the official data, the COVID-19 fatality rate in Bangladesh is now 1.43 percent and the current recovery rate is 80.82 percent.

Vietnam

Vietnam reported two new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing its tally to 1,283 with 35 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

Both new cases involve Vietnamese citizens who recently entered the country from abroad and were quarantined upon arrival, the ministry said.

It also reported 21 more patients have recovered, taking the number of recoveries to 1,124.

ROK

The Republic of Korea's (ROK) reported 223 new cases in 24 hours, up from 208 a day earlier, according to data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The number is the biggest increase in 11 weeks.

The government mulls tightening social distancing to curb persistent outbreaks from offices, medical facilities and small gatherings.

Tighter curbs would ban public gatherings of 100 people or more, limit religious services and audiences at sporting events to 30 percent of capacity, and require high-risk facilities including clubs and karaoke bars to widen distance among guests.

“We are at a critical crossroads where we might have to readjust distancing,” Health Minister Park Neung-hoo told a meeting.

“The current situation is taking a very dangerous turn considering the rising infections from daily lives and the unrelenting pace of the spread.”

Of the new cases, 193 were locally transmitted and 30 imported, according to the KDCA. More than 66 percent of the domestic infections were from the densely populated greater Seoul area, where outbreaks continue to emerge from nursing homes, medical facilities and small businesses.

The daily tally brought the country’s total infections to 28,769, with 494 deaths.

Pedestrians, some wearing face masks, walk through Sydney's central business district on Aug 12, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

Australia

The largest vaccine manufacturing plant in the southern hemisphere will be built in Melbourne, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Monday as he unveiled a plan to guarantee Australia's supply of vaccines for influenza and fevers into the future.

Under the joint cooperation between the federal government and Australian biotech giant CSL, a hi-tech vaccine manufacturing plant will be built near the Melbourne airport and is expected to be operational by 2026.

The state of South Australia reported 14 new coronavirus cases on Monday, a dramatic increase from the previous day

"This new facility will guarantee Australian health security against pandemic influenza for the next two decades," said Greg Hunt, minister of health.

ALSO READ: Minister: Australia 'victim of own success' in virus fight

South Australia ended a monthslong streak of no COVID-19 infections on Sunday, reporting three local infections after a worker from a quarantine hotel infected family members, the authorities said. By Monday the number in the state had jumped to 17.

Morrison said the new cases in South Australia were “a reminder, even after a lockdown, even after all this time, the virus hasn’t gone anywhere”.

Meanwhile, the annual New Year Eve fireworks show in Melbourne has been canceled and replaced with a two-day street food festival this year due to the pandemic, the Melbourne City Council said.

India

India's COVID-19 tally reached 8,845,127 on Monday as 30,548 new cases were registered across the country in the past 24 hours, according to latest data released by the federal health ministry.

With 435 deaths since Sunday morning, the death toll mounted to 130,070, according to the data. The number of active cases stood at 465,478 while a total of 8,249,579 people have been discharged after recovery.

The latest spike in infections in the capital New Delhi, that has swamped its intensive care wards and killed hundreds of people, has passed its peak, the city's top health official said on Monday, dismissing fears of another lockdown.

I can definitely tell you that the peak is gone and cases will slowly come down now.

Satyendar Jain, New Delhi's health minister

"I can definitely tell you that the peak is gone and cases will slowly come down now," Satyendar Jain, minister of health in the city government, told Reuters partner ANI, pointing to a decline in the city's positivity rate.

Jain's remarks came a day after Home Minister Amit Shah said that India will fly doctors in from other regions, double the quantity of tests carried out and ensure people wear masks in efforts to contain the virus' spread in Delhi.

“Amit Shah also directed that the hospital capacity and availability of other medical infrastructure should be ramped up considerably,” the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement on Sunday.

India will also employ retired doctors, conduct door-to-door surveys and employ increased tracking to fight the spread of the virus in Delhi, India’s Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said separately in a tweet.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the federal government would provide 750 intensive care unit (ICU) beds at the Defence Research and Development (DRDO) COVID-19 center to tackle the situation in Delhi. Kejriwal said his government would increase the daily testing capacity to more than 100,000 tests a day.

Meanwhile, in the hardest-hit state of Maharashtra, places of worship reopened on Monday with instructions to maintain social distancing and people trickled in wearing masks.

Turkey

Turkey's daily COVID-19 patients increased by 3,223 on Sunday, raising the total number in the country to 414,278, the Turkish Health Ministry announced.

Meanwhile, 89 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 11,507.

A total of 2,561 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, raising the total recoveries to 353,663 in Turkey since the outbreak.

The rate of pneumonia in COVID-19 patients is 4.2 percent and the number of seriously ill patients is 3,439.

Turkey reported the first COVID-19 case on March 11.

Turkey and China have supported each other in the fight against COVID-19. Chinese doctors and medical experts held video conferences with Turkish counterparts to share China's experience in treating coronavirus patients, protecting medical workers, and controlling the spread of the virus.

READ MORE: Indonesia gives free Bali staycations to test tourism readiness

Iraq

The Iraqi Health Ministry reported on Sunday 2,237 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the nationwide infections to 519,152.

The ministry said in a statement that 47 new deaths and 2,813 more recovered cases were recorded in the country, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 11,670 and the total recoveries to 447,039.

Meanwhile, Riyadh Abdul-Amir, head of the ministry's Public Health Department, said in a press release that the ministry is still communicating with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other organizations regarding providing ultra-cold freezers to store coronavirus vaccines.

"Currently, the ministry has such ultra-cold freezers, but we need more for storing the vaccines," Abdul-Amir said.

Iraq will receive coronavirus vaccines, if approved by the WHO, to cover 20 percent of its population, Abdul-Amir said.

DPRK

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s leader Kim Jong-un ordered a tightening of state emergency anti-coronavirus systems in the face of the worldwide pandemic, as he presided over a meeting of the politburo of the ruling Workers Party, state news agency KCNA said on Monday.

The meeting came amid economic and political uncertainty surrounding the global COVID-19 pandemic that is putting additional pressure on the DPRK’s economy, already battered by international sanctions aimed at stopping its nuclear program.

Making his first public appearance in 25 days, Kim stressed the need to keep a high alert and intensify the anti-epidemic work, KCNA reported.

DPRK had tested over 12,000 people and reported no confirmed cases of the coronavirus, as of early November, according to the World Health Organization.

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan's headquarters for combating COVID-19 reported on Monday 479 new COVID-19 cases, taking the nationwide count to 66,983.

The headquarters also reported 439 more recoveries and four more deaths, bringing the total recoveries to 57,760 and the death toll to 1,203.

Currently, 3,279 patients are receiving treatment in hospitals throughout the country and 4,043 patients at home.

Meanwhile, the health condition of 126 patients is critical.

Kyrgyz health workers conducted 1,293 laboratory tests in the last 24 hours.

Mongolia 

Mongolia confirmed three new COVID-19 cases, bringing the national caseload to 431, the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said Monday.

"A total of 1,818 tests for COVID-19 were conducted across the country yesterday and three of them were positive," said Amarjargal Ambaselmaa, head of the NCCD's Surveillance Department, at a press conference.

Two of the latest new cases were locally transmitted, raising the country's locally transmitted COVID-19 cases to 21, Ambalsemaa said, adding that the remaining one is a Mongolian citizen who has recently returned from Hungary on a chartered flight.

The Philippines

The Philippines' health ministry on Monday recorded 1,738 new coronavirus infections and seven additional deaths, the lowest daily increase in casualties in nearly three months.

In a bulletin, the ministry said total confirmed cases had increased to 409,574, while deaths had reached 7,839.

Despite a downward trend in the number of cases in more recent weeks, this was not the time to be complacent, health ministry undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told a regular news conference on Monday.

Indonesia 

Indonesia reported 3,535 new coronavirus infections on Monday, taking the total number to 470,648, data from the country's health ministry website showed.

The data showed 85 new deaths, bringing the total to 15,296. Indonesia has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths from COVID-19 in Southeast Asia.