A station passageway is crowded with commuters during a rush hour in Tokyo, Japan, on Jan 8, 2021. (EUGENE HOSHIKO / AP)

RIYADH / ISTANBUL / BEIRUT / JERUSALEM / SINGAPORE / BAGHDAD / TEHRAN / MELBOURNE / MANILA / NEW DELHI / SEOUL / BANGKOK / ULAN BATOR - Japan’s prefectures of Kyoto, Osaka and Hyogo have asked the government to declare a state of emergency in their respective regions, Kyodo News reported.

The three prefectures would be additions to the current state of emergency that covers Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba.

The report comes after Tokyo found 2,268 new virus cases Saturday, just shy of a record. It reported 129 serious cases. Hokkaido found 215 new virus cases, according to broadcaster FNN.

ALSO READ: Japan's new virus cases hit record as state of emergency looms

Japan aims to revise its bill on infectious diseases to allow imposing penalties on people infected with COVID-19 who do not respond to requests for hospitalization or treatment, the Yomiuri newspaper reported, citing the government.

The government is discussing a fine of about 1 million yen (US$9,621) or less, it said. While the current law enables prefecture governors to force infected people to be hospitalized, there are no penalties against those who refuse or run away.

A sign reminding shoppers to practice social distancing is spotted at a shopping precinct in Sydney, Australia, Jan 3, 2021. (MARK BAKER / AP)

Australia

Australia’s health officials said on Saturday they are on high alert after cases of highly transmissible new variants of the coronavirus, discovered in Britain and South Africa, have made it into the country.

Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, on Saturday went into a three-day strict lockdown after the discovery of a virulent strain of the virus that causes COVID-19, linked to Britain. A variant that emerged in South Africa was found in Sydney, Australia’s largest city, in a hotel quarantine.

Queensland is rushing to test passengers on a flight from Melbourne after a traveler tested positive for the UK variant. The traveler was allowed to fly to the state’s capital Brisbane on Tuesday after exiting mandatory isolation in Victoria with no symptoms, South Australia state’s chief health officer Jeannette Young said. A re-test in Queensland showed the woman was still shedding the virus some 15-days after first testing positive in hotel quarantine when she returned from the UK on Dec 26, Young told reporters Saturday.

Australia has been more successful than most advanced economies in managing the pandemic, with total infections at around 28,600 and 909 deaths, while each state has at some point recorded zero COVID-19 transmissions.

But given the new variants, the government on Friday cut the number of travelers from overseas, and required negative COVID-19 tests from those boarding planes and more testing at local quarantine facilities.

New South Wales, the largest state, reported one new community transmitted case on Saturday, as a three-week lockdown is set to end for about a quarter million of people in Sydney’s north after an outbreak there in December.

Queensland and Victoria reported no new cases. But officials said that they could not rule out extending the three-day lockdown if more cases emerge.

India

India's COVID-19 tally rose to 10,431,639 on Saturday after 18,222 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, according to the latest data from the federal health ministry.

Deaths rose by 228 to 150,798, according to the data. The number of active cases stood at 224,190.

The national capital New Delhi has been witnessing a downward trend over the past few days. As many as 444 new cases and 10 deaths were registered in through Friday.

Meanwhile, India's civil aviation regulator has issued guidelines to airlines and other aircraft operators for transporting COVID-19 vaccines, officials said Saturday.

"All scheduled operators who have been currently authorized to carry dangerous goods may carry COVID-19 vaccine packed in dry ice, meeting the regulatory requirements," read the guidelines issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

"Non-scheduled operators, including aircraft engaged in general aviation, that are required to participate in the carriage of COVID-19 vaccines packed in dry ice shall seek specific approval before commencing such operations," the guidelines read.

South Korea

South Korea reported 641 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Friday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 67,999.

Of the new cases, 180 were Seoul residents and 195 were residents residing in Gyeonggi province. Forty-five cases were imported from overseas.

Nineteen more deaths were confirmed, lifting the death toll at 1,100. 

Indonesia

Indonesia tightened domestic travel restrictions to control soaring coronavirus infections in Southeast Asia’s biggest hotspot, the country’s COVID-19 taskforce said in a statement.

The tougher rules apply from Saturday through Jan 25, requiring travelers to take polymerase chain reaction or antigen rapid tests before traveling on inter-city or inter-provincial routes on an airplane, bus or ship, and include a ban on talking or using mobile phones.

Indonesia set a fresh record in new coronavirus cases for the third day in a row after the government warned of a spike in infections following year-end holidays.

Thousands of Catholic devotees line up as they celebrate the feast day of the Black Nazarene, at the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in downtown Manila, Philippines, Jan 9, 2021. (GERARD CARREON / AP)

The Philippines

Tens of thousands of people ignored government advice and flocked to the Philippines' capital Manila on Saturday to celebrate the feast of the Black Nazarene, a statue that is believed to have healing powers.

Police estimated a crowd of nearly 23,000 as of Saturday morning. While only 400 at a time were allowed inside the church where the statue stands because of coronavirus restrictions, thousands others prayed outside the building, Rappler reported.

More than a million people have taken part in the annual pilgrimage over past years. On Saturday, most people appear to have heeded the advice of authorities and health experts, who urged devotees to stay home and attend mass online.

The Department of Health reported later in the day 1,952 new COVID-19 cases and 34 deaths, bringing the nation's tally to 485,797 and the death toll to 9,398.

Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute has applied to the Philippine health regulator for emergency use authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine, the regulator said late Friday.

Gamaleya’s emergency use application is the third the Philippine Food and Drug Administration has received after Pfizer and AstraZeneca both made similar applications.

Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that a mass COVID-19 vaccination drive would start soon.

Erdogan said that the urkey's Health Ministry has been continuing its work to launch the vaccination process.

"Currently, we have three (vaccine) sources, namely from China, Germany, and our domestic (products)," Erdogan said.

Daily COVID-19 cases in Turkey's most populated cities, including the country's biggest metropolis Istanbul, capital Ankara, western city of Izmir, and northwestern city of Bursa, are on the decrease, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Friday.

"In the last two weeks, there has been a 40-percent decrease in the number of daily cases in Istanbul and Izmir, and a nearly 60-percent decrease in Ankara and Bursa," Koca tweeted.

Turkey reported on Friday 11,479 bew cases, bringing the tally to 2,307,581, the health ministry said.

The death toll rose by 186 to 22,450, while total recoveries climbed by 9,894 to 2,182,145.

ALSO READ: Australia says COVID-19 vaccinations to begin February

In this photo released by Saudi Press Agency, SPA, Saudi Arabia's King Salman receives the first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in Neom, Saudi Arabia, Jan 8, 2021. (PHOTO / SAUDI PRESS AGENCY VIA AP)

Saudi Arabia

Saudi King Salman received a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine on Friday in the NEOM economic zone, the state news agency SPA reported.

The agency posted two pictures and a short video that showed a medical staff injecting the king with the vaccine.

Also on Friday, Saudi Arabia announced that travel restrictions will be lifted from from March 31, SPA reported.

The Interior Ministry said the new rule would apply to all lands and sea ports.

Lebanon

Lebanon reported on Friday a record 5,440 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections in the country to 210,139.

The death toll went up by 17 to 1,570, the Health Ministry said.

LBCI local TV channel reported that a large number of people were observing new lockdown measures as security forces were deployed to ensure adherence to the restrictions.

Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan reiterated his call for private hospitals to open departments for the treatment of COVID-19 amid an unprecedented increase in the number of infections over the past few days.

Iraq

The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported on Friday 669 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the tally to 601,424.

The ministry also reported eight more deaths, raising the death toll to 12,877. 

The total recoveries rose by 1,898 to 553,025.

Riyadh Abdul-Amir, head of the ministry's Public Health Department, said in a press release that despite a decline in infections and deaths, the epidemiological situation remained risky if a new strain of the virus enters the country.

Iran

Iranian health authorities reported on Friday 6,251 new COVID-19 infections, taking the country's overall count to 1,274,514.

Of the new cases, 581 had to be hospitalized, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health and Medical Education Sima Sadat Lari said at her daily briefing.

The overall toll reached 56,018 as 85 more deaths were registered, the spokesowman said.

She noted that 1,058,654 COVID-19 patients had recovered, while 4,729 others were currently in critical condition.

READ MORE: Iran bans US, UK coronavirus vaccines in feud with West

Israel

Israel's Ministry of Health reported 7,206 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the tally to 477,357.

The country has detected 117 new cases of a mutant COVID-19 strain, the ministry said, taking the total number of patients who have tested positive for the variant to 147.

It said that most of the new cases were the result of infections that occurred in Israel, of which only six are people who returned from Britain, one of the places where the strain was first detected.

Meanwhile, deaths rose by 47 to 3,596.

Earlier on Friday, Israel imposed a regulation requiring everyone arriving in Israel from South Africa to undergo an immediate 10-day quarantine in a designated hotel. The requirement also applies to those coming to Israel from Zambia, Botswana and Lesotho.

Meanwhile, the number of patients in serious condition increased from 872 to 920, among a total of 1,508 patients who are hospitalized.

The total recoveries rose to 408,753, while the number of active cases stood at 65,008.

Singapore

Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 23 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the cumulative caseload to 58,836.

Of the new cases, 21 were imported while the remaining two were community cases.

A total of 58,580 people have recovered and 29 people have died.  

READ MORE: Singapore to legislate on contact-trace data use in crime probes

Qatar

The Qatari Health Ministry reported Friday 195 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 145,466.

Another 139 patients have recovered, bringing the overall recoveries to 142,453, while the death toll increased by one to 246, according to a ministry statement.

Oman

More than 14,900 people in Oman have received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine since the beginning of a national inoculation campaign on Dec 27.

Earlier, authorities reported that the total number of confirmed cases in Oman has risen to 130,070, along with 122,556 recoveries and 1,505 deaths.

Kuwait

Kuwait's COVID-19 cases increased by 495 to 153,473, while the death toll rose by two to 940, the health ministry said Friday.

The ministry said that 244 more people have recovered, taking the total recoveries to 148,483.

Lebanon

Lebanon reported on Friday 5,440 COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections in the country to 210,139. 

The death toll went up by four to 1,570, the Health Ministry said.

Charaf Abou Charaf, head of Lebanese Order of Physicians, said that 10 Lebanese doctors had died from COVID-19, while there were 15 others in intensive care units, Elnashra news website reported.

Thailand

Thailand on Saturday reported 212 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country's caseload to 10,053, according to official data.

Of the new cases, 193 were domestic infections while 19 others were imported, said Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman for the Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration.

The death toll remained at 67.

A total of 5,546 patients have recovered, while 4,440 others were currently hospitalized, Taweesin said.

Mongolia

Mongolia registered 13 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said Saturday.

The latest tally took the total number of infections to 1,408, including 896 and two deaths.