Health workers wearing Personal Protective Equipment gear stand around a patient waiting to get transferred to an intensive care unit, at a recovery center to treat COVID-19 patients, in Mumbai on April 22, 2021. (PHOTO / AFP)

BAGHDAD / DUBAI / CAIRO - Under fire for his handling of the world’s worst COVID-19 surge, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has opened vaccinations for all adults from next month, but supplies are already running short.

Public forecasts by its only two vaccine producers show their total monthly output of 70-80 million doses will increase only in two months or more, though the number of people eligible for vaccines will double to an estimated 800 million from May 1.

Imports from Russia have also been delayed. India could start receiving the Sputnik V vaccine only by end-May, its local distributor Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories told Reuters, at least a month later than New Delhi had expected.

That could lead to chaos at inoculation centers - and possibly help the virus spread further - as people horrified by COVID-19 patients’ struggle for hospital beds and medical oxygen rush to seek immunity, government officials warn privately.

India has the world’s biggest vaccine-making capacity, but has decided to delay big exports for now to focus on its own needs.

Still, supplies are already running short even for currently prioritized recipients over 45 years old.

India saw a record one-day jump with more than 300,000 new coronavirus infections, marking a grim milestone for the country as a deadlier second wave showing no signs of abating.

The South Asian nation, which has the world’s second-largest outbreak, reported 314,835 new cases Thursday, pushing the total tally to almost 16 million cases. 

COVID-related deaths in India jumped to 184,657. The country has administered more than 132 million vaccine doses, according to data from India’s health ministry. That’s enough to cover about 4.8 percent of its vast 1.3 billion population, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker.

Some hospitals in the Indian capital of New Delhi have run out of oxygen, putting lives at risk, the city's deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said on Thursday, as the city was in the grip of surging coronavirus infections.

Interim data showed India’s two-shot Covaxin vaccine had a 78 percent efficacy rate at preventing mild, moderate and severe reactions to COVID -19 and worked against most variants of the virus.

Also, Pfizer is in discussions with India and committed to make its COVID-19 vaccine available for deployment in the country, the US drugmaker said on Thursday.

Singapore 

Singapore health ministry said on Thursday it will not allow entry to long-term visa holders and short-term visitors with recent travel history to India, which is battling a second wave of COVID-19 infections.

On Thursday, Singapore said it was investigating COVID-19 cases in a migrant workers' dormitory for the possibility of re-infection and is quarantining more than 1,100 of the facility's residents. So far, 17 recovered workers were found to be positive for COVID-19 at the dormitory.

The government said travel restrictions with India will help curb potential cases in the dormitories because many of the laborers arrive from the South Asian nation.

Singapore is planning to move hundreds of migrant workers to a quarantine facility after identifying COVID-19 virus cases at a dormitory, the Straits Times reported Thursday, without saying where it obtained this information.

11 more workers staying at Westlite Woodlands dormitory tested positive for COVID-19, including 10 who had previously recovered from the virus, the Ministry of Manpower said in a statement on its website. The facility is on the far north side of the city-state.

Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga recommended placing Tokyo, Osaka and other areas under a state of emergency to stem a surge in coronavirus infections just three months before the capital hosts the Olympics.

Suga was looking to also place Hyogo and Kyoto prefectures, which border Osaka, under a state of emergency, telling reporters Thursday he will make a formal decision after consulting with experts.

Suga has previously approved measures within a day of issuing a recommendation on stepped up virus restrictions, with local media saying the declaration was expected to come Friday. The emergency is likely to be in place from April 25 to May 11, covering the “Golden Week” string of national holidays, Jiji Press said.

While Japan has so far succeeded in keeping coronavirus infections and deaths at far lower levels than those seen in much of Europe and the US, its vaccine program has yet to kick into high gear, meaning restricting activities is the most powerful tool Suga has for reining in case numbers.

Central and local governments are tussling over how harsh the measures should be under the third emergency since the pandemic broke out, the Yomiuri newspaper reported. Stricter regulations, including an unprecedented ban on sales of alcohol at bars and restaurants, are among the proposals being discussed. But tighter restrictions on activity could delay the economy’s recovery and deal a heavy blow to struggling businesses.

Tokyo recorded 861 new cases Thursday, the highest level since late January, while Osaka found 1,242 infections Wednesday, a record for the prefecture.

A police officer helping with Japan's Olympic Torch relay has become the first participant in the event to be diagnosed with COVID-19, organizers said on Thursday. 

A man in his 30s tested positive for the virus after working on the relay in Kagawa prefecture on Japan's southern island of Shikoku, Tokyo 2020 said in a statement.

Syria

Syria's government has received its first delivery of COVID-19 vaccines through the global COVAX initiative, with almost 200,000 doses of the AstraZeneca shot, UN officials said on Thursday. 

A joint statement by UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the GAVI vaccine alliance said the delivery was "critical and timely" and would help health workers "to continue delivering life-saving services in an already exhausted health system as a result of the decade-long war." 

Another 53,800 vaccines were delivered to the opposition-held north-west, which the statement said was an area that has seen large-scale displacement after a major hostilities last year.

Australia

While much of the world contends with a surge in COVID-19 cases, Australia takes another big step toward normality this weekend when about 100,000 football fans will gather in the nation’s largest sports stadium, without having to wear masks.

The government has tamed the virus by shuttering the international border and through rigorous testing and contact tracing, giving Australians an enviable level of freedom. But after winning the containment battle, the country now risks losing the vaccination war as supply shortages and a slow rollout jeopardize the economic recovery.

International tourism and higher education have little chance of recovering until the borders reopen -- and that won’t happen until most of the population has been vaccinated. With only 1.7 million shots delivered so far in a nation of almost 26 million, covering just 3.2 percent of its citizens, Australia is ranked 93rd on Bloomberg’s Global Vaccine Tracker.

The timeline for vaccinating all Australians by October has slipped, potentially into early next year, when Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government will seek re-election.

Australian researchers have received a multi-million dollar grant to study the long-term effects of COVID-19 and potential links between the virus and unborn babies.

Announcement of the 2.3 million Australian dollar (about US$1.8 million) grant was made by the state government of Victoria on Thursday.

Fiji

Fiji reported on Thursday eight new COVID-19 cases, including two community cases and six imported cases. According to Fiji's Health Ministry, the two community cases are a seven-month-old son and a 14-year-old daughter of the 40-year-old case who tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday. 

These two, along with the mother, father, and three other children are all in the Navua Hospital isolation ward, more than 30 km west of capital city Suva. As for the six imported cases, one is a 38-year-old male who arrived in Fiji from Malaysia on April 8 while the other five are members of a family that arrived on April 8 from the Philippines.

Iraq

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Iraq on Wednesday surpassed 1 million. A statement issued by Iraq's ministry of health reported 8,696 new COVID-19 cases during the past 24 hours, the highest in a single day so far, raising the total nationwide number to 1,001,854.

It also said 38 new deaths were recorded during the day, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 15,098, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 6,382 to 877,309.

Surpassing the mark of 1 million cases of COVID-19 prompted the ministry to "reiterate the need to adhere to basic health protective measures: wearing masks, social distancing, regular hand washing, and vaccination," according to the statement.

Iraq has witnessed an increase in daily COVID-19 infections, reaching over 8,000 cases per day in recent weeks.

The ministry has often attributed the recent increase of COVID-19 cases to the public's failure to comply with health instructions and the emergence of a new variant of coronavirus.

The continuation of infections prompted the health authorities to focus on a vaccination campaign in the country to contain the pandemic after the Iraqi National Board for Selection of Drugs has approved the emergency use of the Sinopharm vaccines, in addition to AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Sputnik V vaccines.

However, spokesman of the ministry Sayf al-Badr said in a press release that "the citizens' turnout for vaccination is lower than expected."

A health worker at a makeshift COVID-19 quarantine facility in New Delhi, on April 21. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)

Iran

The Iranian Health Ministry on Wednesday reported 24,886 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, taking the country's total infections to 2,311,813.

The pandemic has so far claimed 67,913 lives in Iran, up by 388 in the past 24 hours, said Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, during her daily briefing.

A total of 1,823,958 people have recovered from the disease or been discharged from hospitals across the country, while 4,991 remain in intensive care units, she noted.

Israel

Israel’s struggling tourism sector hopes to reap quick benefits when the country reopens next month after a rapid COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

Airlines are racing to add flights to Tel Aviv as groups of foreign tourists who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 will be allowed into Israel from May 23.

"As we look to the world reopening and travel resuming, the Italies and Frances are a little behind Israel in terms of when we anticipate travel will reopen. And that's due to vaccines," said Brian Znotins, vice president of network and schedule planning at American Airlines, referring to two other tourist destinations.

Israel, which has vaccinated more than half its population, sees its main challenge as ensuring its reopening does not allow another increase in COVID-19 infections.

Israel's Ministry of Health reported 122 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, raising the total number in the country to 837,479.

The death toll from the virus rose by one to 6,346, while the number of patients in serious conditions decreased from 175 to 173, out of 280 hospitalized patients.

The total recoveries in Israel rose to 829,117 after 215 newly recovered cases were added, while the number of active cases decreased to 2,016, lowest since June 1, 2020.

READ MORE: Homegrown Indian vaccine shows 78% efficacy

Laos

Laos recorded six new confirmed cases of COVID-19, raising its total tally to 94, according to the Lao Ministry of Health on Thursday.

Director General of the National Center for Laboratory and Epidemiology under the Lao Ministry of Health, Phonepadith Xangsayarath, told a press conference held in the Lao capital Vientiane on Thursday that the new cases included four cases detected in Vientiane, and one each in Savannakhet and Bokeo province.

Lebanon

Lebanon's death toll from COVID-19 hit 7,027 on Wednesday after 32 deaths were added, while the tally of infections reached 515,088 as 2,082 new cases were reported, according to its health ministry.

Lebanon is now pushing forward a mass vaccination campaign across the country as it has received a number of vaccines from China, the United States, and the United Nations.

Mongolia 

Mongolia reported 1,328 new COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 26,692, the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said Thursday.

Three of the latest confirmed cases were imported from abroad, and the remaining ones were locally transmitted, the NCCD said in a statement.

Six more deaths were reported in the past day, bringing the death toll to 68, the center said.

Meanwhile, 426 patients have been released after recovery, bringing the national count to 13,772, it said.

A nationwide lockdown, aiming at curbing the steep surge in local COVID-19 cases, took effect on April 10 and will last until April 25.

Pharmacist Blanko Radojkovic prepares a simulated vaccine at the Sydney Local Health District Vaccination Hub in Camperdown during a simulation of the COVID-19 vaccine process in Sydney on Feb 19, 2021. (KATE GERAGHTY / POOL / AFP)

Oman

The Omani Health Ministry on Wednesday announced 1,077 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the sultanate to 183,770.

Meanwhile, 1,094 people recovered during the past 24 hours, taking the overall recoveries to 163,750 while 17 deaths were reported, pushing the tally up to 1,926, according to a ministry statement.

Pakistan

Lockdown is likely to be imposed in major cities of Pakistan if spike in COVID-19 cases persists due to failure of the public to comply with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) set by the government, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) of Pakistan said on Wednesday.

Talking to media after chairing a meeting of the NCOC, the center's chief Asad Umar said that the third wave of the disease is getting serious and the number of critical patients on ventilators rose to around 4,500, about 30 percent higher than the peak time of the epidemic in June of last year.

Expressing concern over the worsening situation of the disease, Umar said that the public should realize that it is time to get serious about the disease spreads and comply with the SOPs because the negligence of the public is putting extra burden on the healthcare system.

Qatar

In Qatar, the health ministry on Wednesday announced 819 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 199,180.

Meanwhile, 757 more recovered from the virus, bringing the overall recoveries to 176,188, while the fatalities increased by nine to 400, according to a ministry statement.

Sri Lanka

The confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka rose to 98,050 on Thursday after it recorded a two-month high of daily cases at 578 on Wednesday evening, the Health Ministry data showed. 

Out of the total cases reported, 93,668 patients have recovered from the coronavirus epidemic and been discharged from hospitals in the country. 

There are currently 3,752 active cases in Sri Lanka, and the death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic stands at 630, the health ministry said.

Thailand

Russia has accepted in principle a request by Thailand to provide the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine to the Southeast Asian country,  Thai government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said on Thursday.

Thailand reported seven new deaths from COVID-19 on Thursday, its highest number of fatalities in a single day since the pandemic started, authorities said, as the country deals with its biggest coronavirus outbreak yet. 

So far 117 people have died in Thailand due to COVID-19. It also reported 1,470 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, taking total infections to 48,113.

The Philippines

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will not attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders' summit scheduled on Saturday in Jakarta, Indonesia, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Thursday.

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines surged to 971,049 after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 8,767 new cases on Thursday. 

The DOH said that 105 more patients died from the coronavirus epidemic, bringing the death toll to 16,370. Metro Manila, home to nearly 14 million people, is still the epicenter of the outbreak, accounting for most of the active and new cases reported in the Southeast Asian country. 

The Philippines, which has about 110 million population, has tested over 10.5 million people since the outbreak in January 2020.

Turkey

In Turkey, the health ministry reported 61,967 new COVID-19 cases, including 2,932 symptomatic patients, raising the total number in the country to 4,446,591.

Meanwhile, the total recoveries climbed to 3,844,342 after 52,213 more recovered in the last 24 hours.

The Iranian Health Ministry on Wednesday reported 24,886 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, taking the country's total infections to 2,311,813.

The pandemic has so far claimed 67,913 lives in Iran, up by 388 in the past 24 hours, said Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education, during her daily briefing.

A total of 1,823,958 people have recovered from the disease or been discharged from hospitals across the country, while 4,991 remain in intensive care units, she noted.

ALSO READ: Tokyo governor says state of emergency needed 'ASAP'

Yemen

The Yemeni health ministry revealed on Wednesday that 24 frontline health workers have already died of COVID-19 in April.

The ministry said in a brief press statement that the 24 victims were health workers under the Ministry of Health in the provinces controlled by the government.

Meanwhile, the country's Supreme National Emergency Committee for Coronavirus said some 42 new COVID-19 cases were recorded during the past 24 hours, raising the total number to 5,960 in the government-controlled regions.

Meanwhile, 28 people recovered during the past 24 hours, taking the overall number of recoveries to 2,309, while nine deaths were reported, raising the death toll to 1,147, according to the pro-government committee.

Brunei

Brunei's Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah has received his second dose of COVID-19 vaccine injection and thus, has completed the COVID-19 vaccination regime, the country's Ministry of Health announced on Thursday. According to the health ministry, the sultan got his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine injection on April 1, 2021.

Oman

The Omani Health Ministry on Thursday announced 1,508 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Sultanate to 185,278, the official Oman News Agency (ONA) reported. Meanwhile, 1,301 people recovered during the past 24 hours, taking the overall recoveries to 165,051 while 16 deaths were reported, pushing the tally up to 1,942, according to a ministry statement quoted by ONA.

Cambodia 

Cambodia on Thursday confirmed 446 new local cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the national total to 8,193, the country's Ministry of Health (MoH) said in a statement. Meanwhile, five more fatalities have been reported, pushing the death toll to 59, the statement said, adding that 130 patients have recovered, taking the overall number of recoveries to 2,924. According to the statement, the new cases included 331 in capital Phnom Penh.

Malaysia 

Malaysia reported 2,875 new COVID-19 infections, the Health Ministry said on Thursday, bringing the national total to 384,688.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press statement that 29 of the new cases are imported, with 2,846 being local transmissions.

Another seven more deaths have been reported, bringing the death toll to 1,407.

A total of 2,541 patients have been released after recovery, bringing the total number of cured and discharged to 361,267 or 93.9 percent of all cases.