A medical worker inoculates a woman with a dose of Covishield vaccine against the COVID-19 coronavirus at the Moti Lal Nehru Medical College in Allahabad on April 9, 2021, as India surged past 13 million coronavirus cases. (SANJAY KANOJIA / AFP)

TOKYO / SUVA / ANKARA / ISLAMABAD - India reported another record number of new COVID-19 infections on Friday and daily deaths hit their highest in more than five months, as it battles a second wave of infections and states complain of a persistent vaccine shortage.

Evoking memories of the last national lockdown when tens of thousands of people walked on foot back to their homes, hundreds of migrants in badly affected Mumbai packed into trains as bars, malls and restaurants have again been forced to down shutters.

The fledgling exodus could also spread the virus to India’s smaller towns and villages. The second surge has already been faster than the first, which peaked in September last year with 97,000 cases a day.

The world’s second most-populous country reported 131,968 new infections and 780 deaths on Friday - the biggest daily increase in fatalities since mid-October. Most of the cases again came from Maharashtra, where Mumbai is located.

A panel of Indian experts is investigating if there are any domestic cases of blood clotting, even mild ones, as a side effect of the two COVID-19 vaccines being administered in the country, financial daily Mint reported on Friday.

India is currently administering AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine and a shot developed at home by Bharat Biotech. 

Indonesia 

Indonesia has detected COVID-19 virus variant E484K which is potentially more contagious, the Indonesian COVID-19 Task Force said on.

According to the task force's spokesman Wiku Adisasmito, this was a mutation in the same spike protein that happened in the South African and Brazilian variants.

"We need to be more disciplined in health protocols. This is our main defense to prevent the spread of the virus," Adisasmito said.

Adisasmito added that the government is to improve the whole-genome sequencing to map the COVID-19 variants that enter Indonesia, and tighten screening for international arrivals.

Cambodia 

Cambodia has set a mechanism to provide free COVID-19 vaccines to all foreigners residing and working in the kingdom, according to a Ministry of Health (MoH) statement.

Signed by Health Minister Mam Bunheng, the statement said on Thursday night that all foreigners living or working in Cambodia who are not under the umbrella of the United Nations, international organizations, bilateral organizations, international financial institutions, embassies or local organizations are eligible for vaccinations free of charge.

The Ministry of Labor is responsible for preparing the name list of foreigners holding ordinary visas (E) and having work permits issued by the Ministry of Labor, the statement said, noting that these foreigners included investors, businesspeople, skilled workers, artists, medical practitioners, teachers, athletes, consultants and experts, among others.

Thailand

At least 12 hospitals in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, said as of Friday they were suspending testing for COVID-19 due to high demand and shortage of supplies, amid a new spike in cases.

The hospitals issued notices on their social media and on messaging apps this week, some saying the suspension would last only a few days and others giving no date for resumption of tests.

Bangkok is at the epicentre of a new outbreak in Thailand that has seen new cases go from only a few dozen per day to several hundred per day, prompting the government to scramble to boost testing and trace new cases.

The government has been hosting its own mass testing in districts of Bangkok where clusters have been reported, mostly involving bars or entertainment venues that have been ordered closed for two weeks.

Thailand reported 405 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, and nearly a third of cabinet ministers are self-isolating due to potential exposure to cases.

The spike in infections comes at a tricky time for Thailand, ahead of next week’s annual Songkran festival, known for big gatherings and notoriously crowded water fights that authorities have banned.

Japan 

Japan aims to place Tokyo under a new, month-long “quasi-emergency” state to combat surging COVID-19 case numbers, a minister said on Friday, less than a month after the capital and host of the Summer Olympics lifted a broader state of emergency.

In a meeting with experts, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura proposed a month of targeted restrictions in Tokyo, like reduced business hours for bars and restaurants, along with 24 days of curbs for Kyoto and Okinawa, starting on April 12. That would take the period of restrictions through Japan’s annual “Golden Week” holiday season from April 29 to May 5.

Japan has so far seen far fewer COVID-19 than many Western nations - about 490,000 cases and 9,300 deaths to date, according to the health ministry - but concerns about a new wave of infections are rising fast, particularly with the summer hosting of the Olympic Games coming up fast.

Australia 

Australia has doubled its order of the Pfizer Inc COVID-19 vaccine, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday, as the country raced to overhaul its inoculation plan over concerns about the risks of blood clots with the AstraZeneca Plc vaccine.

Until late Thursday, Australia based its vaccination programme largely on an AstraZeneca shot, with an order for 50 million doses - enough for the required two shots for its entire 25 million population - to be made domestically by biopharma CSL Ltd.

But Australia has now joined a host of countries in restricting use of the vaccine due to clotting concerns. Local health authorities have changed their recommendation to say the country’s nearly 12 million people aged under 50 should take the Pfizer product instead.

As a result Australia has doubled an earlier Pfizer order to 40 million shots, enough for four-fifths of the population, which would be delivered by the end of the year, Morrison said.

The policy change to Pfizer effectively ends plans to have the entire population vaccinated by the end of October.

Fiji

Fiji on Friday reported one new imported COVID-19 case, who is a 56-year-old female travelling to Fiji from the United States.

According to a statement by Fiji's Health Ministry, the woman, who departed from Sacramento, California, arrived in Fiji's third largest city of Nadi on flight FJ1811 from Los Angeles on March 25 this year.

The woman showed a weak positive test result during routine testing while undergoing the 14-day quarantine in Nadi. She has since been transferred to the isolation ward at Lautoka hospital, about 24 km north of Nadi.

Fiji has had 68 cases in total, with two active cases, 64 recoveries and two deaths since its first case was recorded on March 19 last year. The last 50 cases have been international travel associated cases detected in border quarantine.

Mongolia

Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene announced Thursday that the government has decided to impose a nationwide lockdown to curb the steep surge in local COVID-19 cases.

The government's decision came after more than 500 COVID-19 infections were reported on a daily basis in the country in recent days, mostly in capital Ulan Bator, which is home to over half of the country's 3.3 million people.

"The government made a decision to enter into the red level, the highest level of severity in terms of the spread of the COVID-19 or impose a strict lockdown starting from Saturday until April 25," Oyun-Erdene said at a press conference.

"It is extremely difficult to stop the economic cycle during this difficult time, so a one-time financial assistance of 300,000 Mongolian Tugriks (US$105) will be provided to every citizen of the country during the lockdown," Oyun-Erdene added.

Iran 

Iran reported 22,586 COVID-19 cases on Thursday, taking the country's nationwide caseload to 2,006,934.

The pandemic has so far claimed 63,884 lives in Iran, up by 185 in the past 24 hours, said Iran's Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari.

Of the newly infected, 2,493 were hospitalized, Lari added.

A total of 1,684,570 people have recovered from the disease or been discharged from hospitals, while 4,221 remain in intensive care units, she noted.

According to the spokeswoman, 13,412,327 tests for the virus have been carried out across the country as of Thursday.

ALSO READ: Indonesia turns to China to help plug vaccine shortage

Turkey

Turkey on Thursday reported 55,941 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily count in the country since the start of the outbreak.

Among the new cases were 2,316 symptomatic patients, as the total caseload in the country reached 3,689,866, according to the Turkish Health Ministry.

The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 258 to 33,201, while the total recoveries climbed to 3,232,892 after 37,914 more cases recovered in the last 24 hours.

The rate of pneumonia in COVID-19 patients in Turkey stood at 3.1 percent and the number of seriously ill patients was 2,615 in the country, said the ministry.

Israel

Israel's Ministry of Health reported 274 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, raising the total infections in the country to 835,437.

The death toll from the virus rose by 15 to 6,277, while the number of patients in serious conditions decreased from 294 to 279, out of 438 hospitalized patients.

This is the lowest number of patients in serious condition in Israel since Dec. 1, 2020, when the figure stood at 277.

The total recoveries in Israel rose to 824,666 after 556 newly recovered cases were added, while the number of active cases decreased to 4,494.

Lebanon

Lebanon recorded on Thursday 3,510 new COVID-19 cases, raising its total number of infections to 489,428.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the virus increased by 37 to 6,549 in Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.

Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Joseph Aoun kicked off on Thursday a vaccination campaign for the soldiers in 21 military centers across the country.

Kuwait

The Kuwaiti Health Ministry reported on Thursday 1,379 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections in the country to 242,848.

The ministry also announced four more fatalities, taking the death toll to 1,383, while the tally of recoveries rose by 1,234 to 227,260. A total of 14,205 coronavirus patients are receiving treatment, including 226 in the intensive care units.

Qatar

The Qatari Health Ministry on Thursday announced 949 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 187,150, the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.

Meanwhile, 521 more recovered from the virus, bringing the overall recoveries to 168,001, while the fatalities increased by two to 322, according to a ministry statement quoted by QNA.

READ MORE: Indian states seek widening of vaccinations amid 2nd wave

Myanmar

Myanmar reported nine COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the tally in the country to 142,558, according to a release from the Ministry of Health and Sports.

No new death was reported on Thursday, leaving the death toll at 3,206 in the country, the release said.

According to the ministry's figures, a total of 131,845 patients have been discharged from the hospitals and over 2.54 million samples have been tested for COVID-19 so far.

Pakistan

The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has approved China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, the National Institute of Health in Islamabad confirmed on Friday.

According to a statement released by DRAP on Thursday, the CoronaVac vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac has been given emergency use authorization for people aged 18 and above.

The statement said the authorization will be reviewed every quarter keeping in view data regarding safety, efficacy and quality of the vaccine.

Singapore

Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 21 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 60,575.

All Of the new cases are imported cases.

On Thursday, 24 more cases of COVID-19 infection have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. In all, 60,284 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities, the ministry said.

A woman wearing a face mask takes a look at stairs on which a bench is painted in Goyang, South Korea, April 9, 2021. (PHOTO / AP)

South Korea

South Korea will reimpose a ban on nightclubs, karaoke bars and other nightly entertainment facilities, authorities said on Friday, after the number of new coronavirus cases surged, fanning fears over a potential fourth wave of outbreaks.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun announced the curbs, which take effect on Monday for three weeks, after daily new case counts climbed to a three-month high in recent days. The current 10 p.m. dining curfew and ban on gatherings of more than four people will be maintained, he said.

“Signs of a fourth wave of epidemics that we had so striven to head off are drawing nearer and becoming stronger,” Chung told a daily meeting on the pandemic. “We will maintain the current distancing level, but actively reinforce various specific measures depending on the situation.

South Korea reported 671 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Thursday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 108,269.

The daily caseload was down from 700 in the previous day, but it stayed above 600 for the third straight day.

Thailand

Thailand ordered the closure of entertainment venues in its capital city and 40 other provinces for at least two weeks to contain a flareup in coronavirus infections ahead of the nation’s biggest annual festival.

Bars, pubs, karaoke and massage parlors will remain closed until April 23, Taweesilp Visanuyothin, a spokesman for the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration, said in Bangkok on Friday after the measure was approved by a panel headed by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha. Provincial governors will have the power to extend the shutdown or revoke them early if the situation improves, he said.

The Philippines

The Philippines’ health ministry on Friday reported 401 new coronavirus deaths, the highest single-day spike in fatalities since the start of the pandemic, and 12,225 additional infections.

In a bulletin, the ministry said total confirmed cases had risen to 840,554, while confirmed deaths had reached 14,520. It said 213 cases previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after final validation.