This photo taken on Dec 8, 2020 shows a vendor steering her boat while looking for customers at the Damnoen Saduak floating market, nearly deserted with few tourists due to ongoing COVID-19 travel restrictions, some 100 kilometers southwest of Bangkok, Thailand. (MLADEN ANTONOV / AFP)

ANKARA / SINGAPORE / SEOUL / BANGKOK / JAKARTA / KUALA LUMPUR / YEREVAN / TEHRAN / HANOI / KABUL / DHAKA / BAKU / KATHMANDU / JERUSALEM / YANGON - Thailand on Thursday eased travel restrictions for citizens from 56 countries in a bid to boost the country’s pandemic-hit tourism industry, though visitors will be required to undergo a mandatory two-week hotel quarantine.

Tourists from countries including Australia, France and the United States can travel without visas, but would need a certificate to show they were free of COVID-19 72 hours before travel and a place at a quarantine hotel, Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for Thailand’s COVID-19 taskforce said.

Visitors would then be subject to a two-week quarantine period after arriving, he said, adding that the normal 30-day visa would be extended to 45 days.

While in quarantine, arrivals would undergo three COVID-19 tests, up from two required previously, Taweesin said,

Travellers from other countries not included in Thursday’s announcement could still be eligible for a 90-day special tourist visa and a certificate of entry.

Thailand’s entry restrictions have helped keep its COVID-19 cases at a low 4,281, but caused widespread economic damage and many job losses.

Office workers and city government employees receive a COVID-19 novel coronavirus test at a temporary testing centre outside city hall in Seoul on Dec 17, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

South Korea

South Korea reported a record number of coronavirus deaths on Thursday as the country’s biggest wave of infections since the start of the pandemic strained hospital resources and sparked panic buying in anticipation of a harsh new lockdown.

The novel coronavirus had claimed another 22 lives as of midnight on Wednesday, sharply up from a previous high of 13 deaths in a single day earlier in the week, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported.

Deaths were expected to rise after infections had spiked in Seoul and surrounding areas, with another 1,014 cases reported on Thursday including a daily record of 423 in the densely populated capital city.

Tighter social distancing rules have failed to reverse the trend and the government has warned it may have to impose harsher restrictions on business activity, though it says that move would only be a last resort.

Many residents of Seoul have started stocking up on food and other essential supplies in anticipation the city will be locked down for the first time to halt the spread of the disease.

Japan

The Japanese capital of Tokyo said on Thursday the strain on its medical system from the COVID-19 pandemic was severe, raising its alert level to the highest of four stages as the number of cases spiked to a record daily high of 822.

A health official said it had become difficult to balance the care of COVID-19 patients with regular ones as hospital beds filled up, assigning a “red” alert for medical preparedness for the first time.

“Medical service providers have exhausted all spare resources,” Masataka Inokuchi, vice chair of the Tokyo Medical Association, told a coronavirus monitoring committee meeting attended by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike. “Reducing the number of (COVID-19) patients will be the only way to go.”

The metropolitan government said the number of coronavirus cases hit 822 on Thursday, surpassing the previous record of 678 reached a day earlier.

A month ago, the city raised its coronavirus alert for new infections - a separate category - to the highest level. It had kept its alert for medical preparedness at the second-highest level at the time, indicating a need to boost hospital capacity but a notch below critical conditions.

Japan’s health ministry has found it difficult to reach a conclusion on the effectiveness of Fujifilm Holdings Corp.’s anti-viral drug Avigan in treating COVID-19 patients, according to domestic media reports citing unidentified government sources. Fujifilm’s stock fell as much as 4.2 percent in Tokyo trading Wednesday on the news. Fujifilm had applied in October to expand usage of Avigan to include treatment for coronavirus in Japan, where the drug is already approved for use against novel influenza. Japan’s health ministry is likely to make the decision on Monday, according to the news reports.

New Zealand

New Zealand aims to begin vaccinating its entire population against COVID-19 in the second half of next year in its largest-ever immunization program, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

The government has secured two additional vaccines from pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca and Novavax and will have enough for all 5 million New Zealanders, Ardern said Thursday in Wellington. If proven to be safe and effective, immunization will begin with border workers and essential staff in the second quarter of 2021 followed by the general population in the second half, she said. The vaccines will be free to the public.

Negotiations have concluded on the agreement to facilitate quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and Niue, which has remained COVID-19 free throughout 2020.

"Niue has successfully remained COVID-19 free throughout 2020, and this next step is a testament to all of our hard work to protect ourselves and the Pacific," Ardern said on Thursday after her discussion with Premier of Niue Dalton Tagelagi.

New Zealand is preparing to support Pacific nations to access safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines at the earliest opportunity, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said on Thursday.

"Pacific countries have worked hard to keep COVID-19 out, or to stamp it out, and New Zealand has been committed to supporting them in this," Mahuta said in a statement.

A safe and effective vaccine will be key to the region's economic and social recovery, she said.

Mahuta confirmed 75 million NZ dollars (US$53.5 million) of official development assistance had been earmarked to support Pacific and global vaccine access and roll-out.

An illustration picture shows vials with COVID-19 Vaccine stickers attached and syringes with the logo of British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca on Nov 17, 2020. (JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

Australia

Australia’s largest city Sydney is battling to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19 after five new cases in the past two days ended a more than month-long run with limited community transmission in New South Wales.

Two cases with no known source were identified on Sydney's Northern Beaches on Wednesday, with a further three infections confirmed by health officials on Thursday.

Another man who worked at Sydney Airport driving international air crews tested positive on Tuesday, although he is not believed to be linked to the other cases.

"At the moment we are still unclear about the exact source of the (outbreak) and are awaiting genome sequencing," New South Wales (NSW) Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said.

One of the new cases is a woman in her 50s who works at an aged care facility and is believed to have had close contact with a number of residents, while another is a man who played in a band at several venues across the city.

"Interestingly the band is called Nothing Too Serious... certainly from our point of view I wouldn't say it's exactly how we feel because it obviously is serious," NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said.

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Turkey

The Turkish health ministry started to open "COVID-19 Monitoring Centers" for the control and follow-up of the health status of patients who have had novel coronavirus infection.

The coronavirus patients will be monitored for at least two years at these centers, and possible health problems related to the infection will be intervened early, the health ministry said on Wednesday in a written statement.

Two of those facilities were already launched in the capital Ankara and the northwestern province of Eskisehir and more will be opened in 24 provinces.

Turkey reported on Wednesday 29,718 COVID-19 cases, including 4,893 symptomatic patients, as the total number of positive cases in the country reached 1,928,165, its health ministry announced.

The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 240 to 17,121, while the total recoveries climbed to 1,691,113 after 29,922 more cases recovered in the last 24 hours.

Israel

Israel will next month halt its cellphone tracking of coronavirus cases except for carriers who refuse epidemiological questioning or in the event of a surge in contagions, a government ministry said.

Used on and off since March in efforts to curb COVID-19, the Shin Bet counter-terrorism agency’s surveillance technology checks confirmed carriers’ locations against other cellphones nearby to determine with whom they came into contact.

A cabinet panel that reviewed the tracking decided it would not be extended beyond Jan 20, when a law allowing its use expires, the Intelligence Ministry said.

Israel's health ministry reported 3,690 daily new cases on Wednesday evening, bringing the total infections to 364,320, while 17 new deaths were reported, taking the death toll to 3,031.

Israel's prime minister, president, and military chief will get vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19 next week, their offices said on Wednesday.

In a video statement from his quarantine, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will get the jab on Saturday evening, a day after the end of the five-day isolation he entered following a meeting with a person diagnosed with COVID-19.

The 71-year-old prime minister said he had requested to be the first Israeli to get vaccinated "to set an example and convince (the Israeli citizens) that vaccination is possible and should be done."

Meanwhile, a spokesperson with the President's House said in a statement that President Reuven Rivlin will receive the vaccine on Sunday at the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem.

Also on Wednesday, a health ministry committee said that medical personnel will be the first to receive the vaccine, followed by the staff of retirement homes and people over 60.

After that, people with background conditions, such as diabetes, lung diseases, and immunosuppressed patients, will be vaccinated.

Later, the rest of the population could be vaccinated.

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Iraq

The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported 1,553 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total nationwide infections to 578,916.

The ministry also reported 22 new deaths and 1,766 more recovered cases in the country, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 12,636 and the total recoveries to 513,405.

Meanwhile, the ministry decided on Wednesday to ban Christmas celebration to prevent further spread of infections and warned that it might re-impose a partial or full curfew if the COVID-19 infections increased in the country.

The ministry said that it has been in control of the epidemiological situation during the past period and urged citizens to adhere to health-protective measures, especially since the winter has begun and infections may increase again.

Oman

The Omani health ministry on Wednesday announced 116 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Sultanate to 126,835.

Meanwhile, 231 people recovered during the past 24 hours, taking the overall recoveries to 118,736, while five others reportedly died, pushing the tally up to 1,480.

Qatar

The Qatari health ministry on Wednesday announced 145 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 141,417.

Meanwhile, 123 more recovered from the virus, bringing the overall recoveries to 139,042, while the fatalities increased by one to 242.

India

India's COVID-19 tally reached 9,956,557 on Thursday, as 24,010 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, said the latest data from the federal health ministry.

According to the data, the death toll mounted to 144,451 as 355 COVID-19 patients died since Wednesday morning.

Delhi has been one of the most COVID-19 affected places in the country. As many as 1,547 new cases and 32 deaths were registered in the national capital during the past 24 hours. On Monday the total death toll in the national capital had crossed the 10,000-mark.

There are still 322,366 active cases in the country, while 9,489,740 people have been discharged so far from hospitals after medical treatment, added the ministry's latest data.

Meanwhile, the federal government has ramped up COVID-19 testing facilities across the country, as more than 150 million tests have been conducted.

Till Wednesday a total of 157,805,240 tests were conducted, out of which 1,158,960 tests were conducted on Wednesday alone, said the figures released by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Thursday.

Vietnam

The first test injections of Nanocovax, Vietnam's first home-made COVID-19 vaccine approved for human trials, were conducted on three volunteers here on Thursday, Vietnam News Agency reported.

Developed by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC, Nanocovax is Vietnam's first COVID-19 candidate vaccine to reach the human trial stage.

Nanocovax is scheduled to be tested on 60 selected volunteers aged between 18 and 50 in the first phase of human trials, the news agency cited a health official as saying.

The volunteers will receive two doses of the vaccine via intramuscular injections in the upper arm, which are 28 days apart, and will be under medical monitoring for six months.

If the trials show good results, the drugmaker plans to apply Nanocovax among the public in May 2021, the news agency reported.

Vietnam reported two new cases of COVID-19 infection on Thursday, bringing its tally to 1,407 with 35 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

Laos 

Laos is expected to receive and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine in 2021, according to a health ministry official on Thursday.

Director General of the Department of Communicable Disease Control under Lao Ministry of Health, Rattanaxay Phetsouvanh, told a press conference held in the Lao capital Vientiane that within the year 2021 Laos will be able to receive and distribute a vaccine against COVID-19.

Rattanaxay added the vaccine to be used in the Southeast Asian country will be a vaccine created in Britain.

As of Thursday, Laos has tested 86,481 suspected cases with 41 of them testing positive for COVID-19.

A total of 36 patients have recovered from the coronavirus epidemic, and the remaining five cases are being treated in the designated Mittaphab Hospital (Hospital 150) in Vientiane.

Mongolia 

Mongolia registered five new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the national caseload to 923, the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said Thursday.

The latest confirmed cases were locally transmitted in the capital city Ulan Bator, Amarjargal Ambaselmaa, head of the NCCD's Surveillance Department, said at a press conference.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia started on Thursday the COVID-19 vaccination process.

The Health Ministry tweeted that Health Minister Tawfiq al-Rabiah received the vaccine.

Al-Rabiah tweeted, "In the last nine months, I was observing with concern the number of cases, today I will happily observe the number of people who will get the vaccine."

The kingdom received on Wednesday the first shipment of the vaccine. More than 150,000 individuals registered to receive the free-of-charge vaccine.

The three-stage vaccination process covers citizens and residents in the country who wish to receive the vaccine. 

Indonesia

Indonesia’s COVID-19 tally rose by 7,354 within one day to 643,508, while the death toll climbed by by 142 to 19,390, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.

Specifically, Jakarta recorded 1,690 new cases, West Java 1,277, East Java 855, Central Java 620 and South Sulawesi 333. 

According to the ministry, 4,995 more patients were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recoveries to 526,979.

Afghanistan

The Afghan Ministry of Public Health on Thursday confirmed 232 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections to 50,202, of which 8,848 were active.

Another 15 people have died, taking the death toll to to 2,032, the ministry said.

Thirty-eight more patients have recovered, it added.

Malaysia

Malaysia has recorded 1,220 new COVID-19 infections, the health ministry said on Thursday, bringing the nation’s tally to 89,133.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press statement that six of the new cases are imported and 1,214 are local transmissions.

The death toll rose by three to 432, while the number of recoveries reached 74,030 after another 1,297 patients were discharged.

Of the remaining 14,671 active cases, 106 were in intensive care and 53 of those were in need of assisted breathing.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan Thursday registered 4,124 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing its total to 191,460, the country's Operational Headquarters for COVID-19 prevention and control said.

Deaths rose by 38 to 2,088 while the number of recoveries increased by 4,205 to 127,064.

Nepal

Nepal on Thursday confirmed 776 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the national total to 251,692, the country's health ministry said.

The death toll rose by six to 1,749.

Iran

Iran reported on Thursday 7,453 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 1,138,530, according to the Ministry of Health and Medical Education's website.

Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for the ministry, said at her daily briefing that 1,147 of the new cases were hospitalized.

The death toll rose by 212 to 53,095, Lari said. It was the lowest daily toll posted since Oct 10.

A total of 856,513 patients have recovered, while 5,645 others were in critical condition, she added.

Also Thursday, Head of the Public Relations and Information Center of the Ministry of Health, Kianush Jahanpur, said that judging from the current progress of nine medical projects in Iran, a new locally-developed vaccine should be available in next spring.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh reported 1,134 new COVID-19 cases and 36 more deaths on Thursday, bringing the tally to 496,975 and death toll to 7,192, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.

The total number of recoveries rose by 2,239 to 431,590, the DGHS said.

Armenia

Armenia on Thursday reported 1,174 new COVID-19 cases, taking its national total to 151,392, according to the country's National Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC).

Data from the NCDC showed that 1,296 more patients have recovered in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 129,990.

Meanwhile, 25 more people have died, raising the death toll to 2,581.

Singapore

Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported Thursday 24 new COVID-19 cases, all imported, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 58,377.

Another 14 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery, bringing the number of recoveries to 58,252, the ministry said.

There were 33 patients hospitalized, with non in critical condition.

The death toll remained at 29.

Myanmar

Myanmar recorded 1,182 new COVID-19 cases and 31 more deaths in the past 24 hours, according to a release from the Health and Sports Ministry on Thursday.

The tally has risen to 113,082 while the death toll reached 2,377, according to the release.