A man receives a shot of COVID-19 vaccine during a mass vaccination for traders and workers at Tanah Abang Market in Jakarta, Indonesia, Feb 17, 2021. (PHOTO / AP)

ANKARA / JERUSALEM / BEIRUT / KUWAIT CITY - Getting a COVID-19 vaccination in Indonesia will be mandatory for eligible citizens, the government said, with the country seeking ways to quicken its inoculation program to curb Southeast Asia’s largest outbreak. 

The government can punish those who refuse the vaccine by stopping or delaying social assistance programs and administrative services as well as impose fines, according to a revised presidential rule. The actual form of the sanctions are left to local governments to decide.

Making the COVID-19 vaccine compulsory is an unusual move amid widespread hesitance toward the shots that were rushed in its development.

A survey last September found that about 65 percent of Indonesians would want to get the shots, while the rest were concerned about the cost, health risks and whether the vaccine would be halal. The government has since made the vaccine free of charge.

New Zealand

A dry run of the end-to-end process shows New Zealand's COVID-19 vaccination program is ready to roll from Saturday, when the first border workers will receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said on Thursday.

The trial run took place in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch on Wednesday, ahead of the vaccination program formally kicking off on Saturday. The first batch of COVID-19 vaccines arrived in New Zealand on Monday. The vaccine will be offered to border and managed isolation workers, with the first immunizations given out to those working in the Auckland region.

"Officials have been working on logistics for months, and the dry run gave them an opportunity to stress test the system, identify any gaps and put plans in place for any event," Hipkins said in a statement.

Testing included things such as vaccines being dropped and technology systems being temporarily unavailable, and included the arrival of a thermal protection box used to transport the vaccine to validate the safe and secure handover process, according to the minister.

"The final steps in preparing for the first border workers to receive their vaccines on Saturday and for the start of the overall programme, will include the vaccinators who will vaccinate the border workers receiving the vaccines themselves. This will take place tomorrow," Hipkins said.

"While our workforce modelling shows we only need 100 vaccinators to immunise everyone who works at our border, we already have more than that who have completed the necessary training to administer the Pfizer vaccines, and hundreds more set to complete it in coming weeks," he added. 

Japan 

Japan on Wednesday confirmed 1,447 new COVID-19 infections as the country began its vaccination campaign with first jabs administered to medical workers in the capital Tokyo.

The nation's cumulative total of infections has risen to 421,211, with 79 newly reported deaths bringing the death toll to 7,236, according to the latest figures.

Meanwhile, Tokyo on Wednesday reported 378 new cases, bringing the city's tally to 108,337.

According to the latest statistics released by the Tokyo metropolitan government, it is the 11th successive day that new infections in the city have remained below the 500-mark.

The number of patients designated as being "seriously ill" and requiring intensive care in hospitals and the use of respirators stood at 87, compared to 82 critically ill patients reported the previous day.

The majority of the 378 new cases were aged in their 30s, followed by those aged in their 20s.

Infected patients aged in their 50s took the third spot, slightly higher than those aged in their 40s, the local government and health officials said.

Turkey

Turkey will gradually lift restrictions against COVID-19 on the provincial levels from March, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday.

"We will start the normalization process as the beginning of March by dividing our provinces into four groups," Erdogan said at a press conference after a cabinet meeting.

The government will lift the restrictions gradually according to the number of cases, vaccination and other relevant criteria in the provinces, he added.

But the numbers of daily coronavirus cases should also be declining in order to take a step toward lifting restrictions in these provinces, Erdogan noted.

Turkey on Wednesday reported 7,325 new COVID-19 cases, including 649 symptomatic patients, taking the total number of positive cases in the country to 2,609,359.

The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 86 to 27,738, while the total recoveries climbed to 2,496,833 after 7,209 more cases recovered in the last 24 hours, according to Turkish Health Ministry.

The rate of pneumonia in COVID-19 patients in Turkey stands at 3.6 percent and the number of seriously ill patients was 1,193, said the ministry.

A total of 117,121 tests were conducted over the past day, raising the overall number of tests in Turkey to 31,866,086.

Israel

Israel's Ministry of Health reported 4,206 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, raising the tally of confirmed cases in the country to 738,209.

The death toll from the COVID-19 in Israel reached 5,470 after 35 new fatalities were added, while the number of patients in serious condition decreased from 963 to 948, out of 1,486 hospitalized patients.

The total recoveries rose to 680,810, with 7,289 newly recovered cases, while the active cases decreased to 51,929.

The number of people vaccinated against COVID-19 in Israel has surpassed 4.11 million, or 44.2 percent of the total population, since the vaccination campaign began on Dec. 20, 2020.

Starting Friday, the restriction on gatherings in open spaces will be eased to 20 people at most, according to a decision by the Israeli government.

Also, 10 people will be allowed to gather indoors instead of five people.

Lebanon

Lebanon registered on Wednesday 2,479 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total infections in the country to 346,063, the Health Ministry said.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the virus went up by 60 to 4,152.

About 500,000 people have so far registered for coronavirus vaccination in the country, a number the Health Ministry expects to further increase in the coming days.

Lebanon received on Sunday the first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.

Palestine

The Gaza Strip on Wednesday received the first batch of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine. 

The Hamas-run health ministry in the besieged Gaza Strip announced that first shipment contains 2,000 doses of vaccines and will be enough for the vaccination of 1,000 people.

ALSO READ: Indonesia starts 2nd round of massive COVID-19 vaccination

Oman

The Omani Health Ministry on Wednesday announced 277 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the sultanate to 138,206, the official Oman News Agency reported.

Meanwhile, 209 people recovered during the past 24 hours, taking the overall recoveries to 129,752, while five persons reportedly died, pushing the tally up to 1,549, according to a ministry statement quoted by ONA.

Last week, Oman continued land border closure "until further notice" in a bid to curb the spread of the pandemic.

The ministry urged everyone to adhere to social distancing instructions issued by the Supreme Committee entrusted with handling the novel coronavirus.

Iraq

The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported on Wednesday 3,575 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily record in 2021, bringing the total nationwide infections to 653,557.

The new cases included 1,157 in the capital Baghdad, 498 in Karbala, 405 in Najaf, 347 in Basra, and 243 in Dhi Qar, the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also reported 12 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 13,204.

Meanwhile, 1,236 cases recovered during the day, bringing the total recoveries to 611,036, the statement said.

A total of 6,368,835 tests have been carried out across the country since the outbreak of the disease in February 2020, with 46,840 done during the day, according to the statement.

Minister of Health Hassan al-Tamimi said in a press release that there would be a sharp increase in infections with the new strain of coronavirus characterized with faster transmission. 

India

The Indian government on Wednesday issued new guidelines for incoming international travellers in the wake of three variants of the COVID-19, which were first detected in Britain, South Africa and Brazil respectively, according to an official statement.

All three variants have demonstrated increased transmissibility, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO), said the statement issued by the health ministry.

So far, the mutant strain first found in South Africa has been detected in four returnees to India - one from Angola, one from Tanzania and two from South Africa.

READ MORE: Virus: Inoculations to start as vaccines arrive in Australia, NZ

Myanmar

The number of COVID-19 cases has risen to 141,690 in Myanmar after 31 new infections were reported in the past 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health and Sports Ministry on Wednesday.

No death was reported in the past 24 hours and the death toll stood at 3,192, the ministry's figures said.

A total of 130,944 recovered patients have been discharged from hospitals as of Wednesday.

Qatar

The Qatari health ministry on Wednesday announced 453 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 158,591, the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.

Meanwhile, 128 more people recovered from the virus, bringing the overall recoveries to 148,766, while the total fatalities stood at 256, according to a ministry statement quoted by QNA.

A total of 1,481,420 people in Qatar have taken lab tests for COVID-19 so far. 

Kuwait

Kuwait’s vaccinating its citizens against COVID-19 at six times the rate of expatriates who make up two-thirds of the population, spurring claims of racism and concerns the discrepancy will delay a return to normal life.

Around 119,000 Kuwaitis and 18,000 expats have been vaccinated, according to the latest data, despite more than half of those registered for a jab being foreign.

Overall, Kuwait has administered 3.7 shots per 100 people for a population of about 4.5 million. That’s a higher rate than in Saudi Arabia but way below neighboring United Arab Emirates on 48 doses per 100 among a mostly expatriate 10 million people.

The disparity in Kuwait’s campaign has triggered an online debate between those nationals defending the policy and outraged expatriates and Kuwaitis who feel the pro-citizen push is flavored by racism.

There were signs of a shift on Wednesday, with expat residents of Kuwait saying that more elderly foreigners were seen at inoculation centers.

Officials at the Health Ministry couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. Kuwait has said it’s facing a second wave of infections and increased fatalities over the last two weeks.

Kuwait reported on Wednesday 1,017 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number in the country to 180,505.

The Kuwaiti Health Ministry also announced five more deaths, taking the death toll to 1,019.

Thailand 

Thailand is set to begin human trials of a COVID-19 vaccine that deploys the same technology used by Moderna Inc. as the Southeast Asian nation pushes ahead with plans to develop its own shots against the coronavirus.

Bangkok-based Chulalongkorn University will begin clinical trials as early as April, making it Thailand’s second inoculation program to enter clinical trials, according to Kiat Ruxrungtham, head researcher at the university’s Center of Excellence in Vaccine Research and Development. The center is using new mRNA technology, and testing in transgenic mice showed the vaccine can prevent clinical symptoms and viremia after two shots, he said.

The university will enroll 72 participants in the first phase of human trials, while Phase 2 may involve between 300 to 600 participants. The two-dose vaccine will be administered three weeks apart and will be enlisted for a rolling review with the Thai drug regulator, Kiat said.

Thailand last week announced that the first locally developed vaccine will enter clinical trials in March as authorities seek to cut reliance on imports. The country is likely to kick off its vaccination drive after the arrival of the first lot of 2 million doses ordered from China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. next week. The government has ordered an additional 61 million doses from AstraZeneca Plc. to inoculate 50 percent of its population by the end of the year.

Singapore

Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 11 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the country's tally to 59,821.

Among the new cases, 10 are imported and one is in the community.

Also on Wednesday, 15 more patients were discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. In all, 59,676 patients have fully recovered, the ministry said.

There are currently 25 active cases being treated in hospitals, with the condition of most of them being stable or improving. One of them is in critical condition and being treated in the intensive care unit.

South Korea

South Korea reported 621 more coronavirus cases, the second day above 600 and biggest gain in six weeks, raising worries about a fresh wave of cases. The country’s health authorities said Wednesday that it was “hard to judge” whether the latest increase is due to a temporary spike in tests after the four-day Lunar New Year holiday or marks a resurgence of its “third wave.”

Australia

Australia's coronavirus vaccine program will begin on Feb 22, the government has confirmed.

Health Minister Greg Hunt and Department of Health Secretary Brendan Murphy on Thursday announced that the vaccine rollout will begin in more than 200 aged care facilities in 190 towns across Australia next Monday.

"There will be approximately 240 aged care facilities, if not more, that are vaccinated in week one," Hunt said in a press conference in Canberra.

 In addition to aged care residents and staff, border and quarantine workers and frontline healthcare workers will be the first Australians to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

South Australia will begin administering coronavirus vaccines as early as Monday.

Steven Marshall, the premier of SA, said that his government was aiming to vaccinate 1,726 South Australian frontline workers in the first week of the rollout and 12,000 in the first three weeks.

The state is set to receive 4,000 doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, which the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved for use in Australia in January, over the weekend.

Iran

Iran’s health ministry has issued an emergency-use approval for COVID-19 vaccines developed by AstraZeneca-Oxford and India’s Bharat Biotech, a deputy at the country’s Food and Drug Administration said. Iran aims to buy AstraZeneca-Oxford shots through the World Health Organization-backed Covax program “or directly from South Korea and Russia-based producers of the vaccine,” Heidar Mohammadi was cited as saying by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Mongolia 

Mongolia registered 49 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing its national count to 2,493, the National Center for Communicable Diseases said Thursday.

The country also recorded one more COVID-19-related death on Wednesday, taking the total death toll to five, the center said in a release.

Meanwhile, 25 more recoveries from COVID-19 were reported, raising the nationwide tally to 1,802, it said.

So far, around 1.5 million COVID-19 tests have been conducted across the Asian country, which has a population of 3.3 million, according to the center. 

Afghanistan

The Afghanistan's Public Health Ministry reported 18 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, raising the total nationwide infections to 55,575, including 4,347 active cases.

The ministry said in a statement that 2,029 COVID-19 tests were conducted across the country in the past day.

Meanwhile, 172 people recovered while no death was reported during the past 24 hours.

The Philippines

The Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines reported on Thursday 1,744 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the tally in the Southeast Asian country to 555,163.

The death toll climbed to 11,673 after 96 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH said. Meanwhile, 412 more patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 512,375.

The Philippines, which has about 110 million population, has tested over 7.9 million people since the disease emerged in January last year.