A student (center) takes a face mask from a basket from the Ayutthaya Elephant Palace, outside the Jirasat Wittaya School in the central Thai province of Ayutthaya on Dec 23, 2020. (LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)

TEHRAN / DUBAI / TOKYO / SEOUL / SYDNEY - The Thai capital of Bangkok will close all schools for two weeks after the New Year holiday as it tightens measures to control a new wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the city said on Friday.

Thailand confirmed 279 new coronavirus cases on Friday, with the majority of them linked to a cluster among migrant workers in Samut Sakhon province south of Bangkok, and another cluster linked to illegal gambling dens that started in the eastern province of Rayong.

These new clusters have started to spread into Bangkok, prompting the city’s administrator to tighten measures to curb the spread of the virus.

“We begin to detect new cases linked to students and other service businesses,” said Pongsakorn Kwanmuang, the spokesman for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

Australia

Australians received positive news on New Year’s Day with few new coronavirus cases recorded from the previous day, bringing hope that clusters in Sydney and Melbourne have been brought under control. 

Three new cases were reported overnight in Sydney in the city’s west, New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters Friday. Meanwhile, authorities in neighboring Victoria state recorded no new cases overnight after eight new infections were detected Thursday.

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India

India's COVID-19 tally rose to 10,286,709 on Friday as 20,035 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, said the latest data from the health ministry.

According to the data, the death toll mounted to 148,994 as 256 COVID-19 patients died since Thursday morning.

Iran

An Iranian official announced on Thursday that 50,000 volunteers in the country will be recruited for the clinical testing of a joint Iranian-Cuban COVID-19 vaccine, semi-official Mehr News Agency reported.

"As promised by the head of the Pasteur Institute, we will see the third phase of clinical studies of this co-produced vaccine implemented in our country," said Kianush Jahanpur, spokesman for Iran's Food and Drug Administration.

The testing will be carried out between the fourth week of January and the fourth week of March, Jahanpur added.

If the testing yields positive results, mass production of the vaccine will be put on the agenda, he noted.

Iraq

In Iraq, the Iraqi Ministry of Health reported 849 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total nationwide infections to 595,291.

The ministry also reported five new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 12,813, and 1,493 more recovered cases, bringing the total recoveries to 537,841.

Israel

The number of people vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus in Israel has reached more than 950,000, the state's Ministry of Health said on Friday.

Israel has thus vaccinated more than 10.2 percent of its population of about 9.3 million in less than two weeks, since the vaccination campaign began on December 20, 2020.

Israel's Ministry of Health reported 4,976 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, bringing its tally to 419,943.

The death toll from the virus in Israel increased by 14 to 3,318, while the total recoveries rose to 374,138 after 3,713 new recovered cases were added.

Earlier on Thursday, Israel's Ministry of Tourism said that the state's total tourism revenues declined by about 81 percent year on year in 2020 amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Crowds of pedestrians at the Ameya Yokocho market in the Ueno district of Tokyo, Japan, on Dec 30, 2020. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)Japan

New Year’s Day is the biggest holiday in Japan’s calendar, but this year’s festivities have been subdued following record highs in new coronavirus cases nationwide and calls from the government to stay home.

Japan’s stance against declaring another state of emergency appears to be shifting, as coronavirus infections fueled by the onset of cold weather showed no signs of abating even after the country stepped up containment measures.

Tokyo’s metropolitan government is considering a request to the central government to declare a state of emergency, national broadaster NHK reported, without citing how it obtained the information. On Wednesday, Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of Japan’s coronavirus response, said the country could consider an emergency if infections continue at the current rate.

Japanese officials have until now said they weren’t thinking about taking such a step. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who typically says an emergency is not being considered, brushed past direct questions about it Thursday evening in remarks to reporters. 

Suga said the most important thing was protecting the medical system and preventing accelerating virus spread, and did not address the emergency directly.

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Jordan

Jordan reported 1,427 new coronavirus cases and 19 more deaths, pushing its tally of COVID-19 cases to 294,494 and its death toll to 3,834. The tally of recoveries in the kingdom increased by 1,708 to 270,551.

Kuwait

Kuwait's COVID-19 cases increased by 286 to 150,584 on Thursday, while the death toll rose by one to 934, said the the Kuwaiti Health Ministry. It also announced the recovery of 233 more patients, taking the total recoveries to 146,517.

Lebanon

In Lebanon, 3,507 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed on Thursday, taking its total infections to 181,503. The death toll in Lebanon rose by 12 to 1,468, while the tally of recoveries surged by 987 to 127,959.

Maldives 

The Maldives has announced a decision to sign an agreement to procure the COVID-19 vaccine produced by AstraZeneca Singapore and Oxford University, local media reported here Friday.

Maldives is at risk of being exposed to the new, highly contagious strain of COVID-19 spreading in Britain, local media citing health officials reported here Friday.

Dr. Nazla Musthafa from the technical advisory group under Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) told local media that the new coronavirus strain has been detected in more than 20 countries and regions including major destinations for Maldivian travellers.

Mongolia 

Mongolia reported five more COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking its national tally to 1,220, the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said Friday.

The latest confirmed cases were locally transmitted or reported in the country's capital Ulan Bator, the NCCD said in a statement.

Meanwhile, seven more patients have recovered from the disease, taking the total number of recoveries in the country to 837, according to the center.

The Asian country has so far recorded only one COVID-19-related death since confirming its first case of COVID-19 in March.

Iranians wearing protective masks amid the COVID-19 pandemic, walk on a market street in the capital Tehran, on Dec 30, 2020. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Oman

The Omani Health Ministry on Thursday announced 148 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Sultanate to 128,867.

Oman's total recoveries rose by 276 to 121,890, while two patients died from the infection, bringing the death count in Oman to 1,499.

Palestine

Palestine registered 1,268 new COVID-19 cases and 29 more deaths in the Palestinian territories, pushing the total infections to 138,004 and the death toll to 1,400. The total recoveries in Palestine increased by 2,065 to 117,183.

Qatar

The Qatari health ministry confirmed 213 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 143,834.

Qatar's total number of recoveries increased by 122 to 141,422, while the total fatalities remained at 245 for the third day running, according to a ministry statement.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia registered 140 new COVID-19 infections and nine more death from the disease, taking its tally of coronavirus cases to 362,741 and its death toll to 6,223. The total recoveries from the virus in the kingdom rose by 171 to 353,853.

Singapore

Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 30 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 58,599.

Among the new cases, five are local cases and the rest are imported cases. One of the local cases is currently unlinked.

"The recent community cases are a stark reminder that we cannot afford to let our guard down, especially during this festive period when there are increased social interactions," said MOH in a press release.

South Korea

South Korea reported 1,029 new coronavirus cases on Friday amid subdued New Year’s celebrations.

The tally was up from 967 the day before, and brought total cases to 61,769, with 917 deaths, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

After initial success in subduing earlier waves of infections, South Korea has struggled to reduce this latest and largest surge, with daily cases hovering around 1,000 for weeks.

Amid the strictest social distancing restrictions yet, authorities shut down the beaches on the country’s east coast where people traditionally gathered to watch the first sunrise of the New Year.

The Philippines

The Philippines will block "foreign passengers" from the United States starting Sunday following the detection of the new and more infectious coronavirus variant in that country, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Friday.

The Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines on Friday reported 1,765 new confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, bringing the total number in the country to 475,820.

The death toll climbed to 9,248 after four more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH said. It added 106 more patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 439,895.

The UAE

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) recorded 1,730 new COVID-19 cases and four more fatalities, raising its tally of infections to 207,822 and its death toll to 669. The UAE's total recoveries rose to 184,442, after 1,435 more patients recovered from the disease.

Turkey

Turkey reported 14,380 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, leading its tally to cross 2.2 million amid raging coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, Iran said it will recruit 50,000 volunteers for the clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine it has co-produced with Cuban.

Turkey's total number of COVID-19 cases surged to 2,208,652, while its death toll rose by 239 to 20,881. The tally of recoveries in Turkey increased by 22,021 to 2,100,650.