A Yemeni health worker receives a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination centre in Yemen's third city of Taez, on April 21, 2021. (PHOTO / AFP)

CANBERRA / PHNOM PENH / BENGALURU / BAGHDAD / JERUSALEM / TOKYO / KUWAIT CITY / ULAN BATOR / ISLAMABAD / SEOUL / MANILA / ANKARA - The World Health Organisation will start COVID-19 vaccinations next week in north Yemen where the Houthi authorities in control have played down the impact of the pandemic, largely denying any outbreak there.

Inoculations in parts of the Arabian Peninsula country run by Yemen's Saudi-backed government began seven weeks ago, giving a boost to a healthcare system shattered by war, economic collapse and, recently, a shortfall in humanitarian aid funding.

Houthi authorities, who control the capital Sanaa and most major urban areas in Yemen's six-year conflict, have provided no coronavirus infection or fatality figures since a couple of cases in May 2020. But numbers of confirmed cases in the rest of Yemen started to rise rapidly in mid-February.

The WHO's representative in Yemen, Adham Abdel-Moneim, said 10,000 vaccine doses arrived at Sanaa airport on Monday and were put into cold storage.

Malaysia 

Malaysia began a two-week national lockdown on Tuesday, with police checkpoints on road junctions around the capital Kuala Lumpur as authorities tackle a wave of COVID-19 infections that has hit record levels in recent weeks.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin called it a "total lockdown", though essential services are allowed and some factories can operate with a reduced workforce.

The latest outbreak has been more severe, partly due to highly transmissible variants. It has also strained the health service, prompting some in the capital to question whether enough has been done.

"For me, the lockdown should have been carried out during Ramadan when there were fewer cases and people didn’t move around as much," said bank manager Muhammad Azril Maridzuan, referring to the Muslim fasting month that ended in mid-May.

"Now, people are moving around more. So it's a little late but a lockdown is okay to reduce our infection rates," he said.

Traffic appeared lighter in parts of the often congested capital with cars moving smoothly around the landmark 88-storey Petronas Twin Towers.

Another resident also worried about the scope of the latest curbs.

Malaysia unveiled a 40 billion ringgit (US$9.7 billion) package to help people and companies through the two-week nationwide lockdown that begins Tuesday.

The plan includes a 5-billion ringgit fiscal injection, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised address Monday. The package is aimed at boosting health-care capacity, increasing cash aid and ensuring businesses continuity, he said.

Malaysia’s return to a hard lockdown comes as a worsening COVID-19 outbreak leaves hospitals low on ICU beds. Economists have shaved as much as two percentage points off their full-year growth estimates with most businesses closed, except for essential economic and service sectors.

Malaysia reported 7,105 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the total number of infections recorded in the country to 579,462.

DPRK

A shipment of coronavirus vaccines to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) via the global COVAX sharing programme that was expected for late May has been delayed again amid protracted consultations, the Republic of Korea's (ROK) Unification Ministry said on Tuesday.

COVAX, which secures vaccines for poor countries, has said it will provide nearly 2 million doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to the DPRK.

The DPRK was expected to receive a first batch of the shipment in late May but discussions are still under way, said an official at the ministry, which handles the DPRK affairs.

"Countries that want COVAX support are required to hold various consultations and submit some documents including an inoculation plan," the official said.

"But in the ROK's case, such consultations have been prolonged and it appears that the shipment will be made later than initially planned."

The ROK has not commented on any consultations on vaccines. It has not officially confirmed any COVID-19 infections, although Seoul officials have said an outbreak there cannot be ruled out as the DPRK had trade and people-to-people exchanges with China before closing its border early last year.

The GAVI alliance, which co-leads COVAX with the World Health Organization, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But it told Reuters last month that shipments have not been made to the DPRK due to its lack of "technical preparedness" and global supply shortages but could be expected later this year.

Australia

The Australian government is reconsidering making coronavirus vaccines mandatory for aged care workers.

The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) ruled in January that COVID-19 vaccines would not be made compulsory for people working in residential aged care facilities.

However, with Victoria, the country's second-most populous state, thrust back into lockdown after a cluster of COVID-19 cases emerged in state capital Melbourne, federal Health Minister Greg Hunt announced that he has asked the panel to reconsider.

Australia's Victoria state authorities said on Tuesday that it was still unclear whether a snap one-week lockdown to contain a fresh COVID-19 outbreak would end as planned on Thursday night, as the state grapples with a growing virus outbreak.

Australia's second-most populous state was plunged into the lockdown on May 27 after the state reported its first locally transmitted cases in nearly three months early last week, forcing its near seven million residents to remain home except for essential business.

Nine new locally acquired COVID-19 cases were reported on Tuesday taking the total infections in the clusters to 54. Tuesday's data includes six cases announced on Monday which were recorded after the midnight cut-off deadline.A worker removes medical waste from an aged care facility in the Melbourne suburb of Maidstone on May 31, 2021. (WILLIAM WEST / AFP)

Cambodia

The death toll from COVID-19 in Cambodia has risen to 220 on Tuesday after six new fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health (MoH) said in a statement.

The Southeast Asian nation also logged 616 new cases, pushing the national case tally to 30,710 so far, the statement said, adding that the new infections included 585 local cases and 31 imported cases.

India

India's Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) which recently developed the anti-COVID-19 drug, 2-deoxy-D-glucose or 2DG, on Tuesday said the medicine can be given to patients under the care and prescription of doctors.

"The 2DG is approved for emergency use as adjunct therapy to the standard of care in the treatment of COVID-19 patients in the hospital settings," read the directions issued by the government agency.

"Ideally, 2DG should be prescribed as early as possible by doctors for moderate to severe COVID-19 patients for maximum duration up to 10 days," said the DRDO.

The first batch of the 2DG medicine were released last month.

The drug was developed by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences, a DRDO lab in collaboration with the Indian multinational pharmaceutical company Dr. Reddy's Laboratories based in Hyderabad.

Indian federal education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank was on Tuesday admitted to the country's premier health institute in New Delhi, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), for post COVID-19 complications, local media reports said.

"Education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank was taken to the hospital today around 11:30 a.m. (local time) and is admitted in a private ward," a local television channel said.

Nishank contracted COVID-19 infection in April, following which he was admitted to the hospital for treatment. He was later declared healthy and discharged from the hospital.

India reported on Tuesday its lowest daily rise in new coronavirus infections since April 8 at 127,510 cases over the past 24 hours, while deaths rose by 2,795.

The South Asian nation's tally of infections now stands at 28.2 million, while the death toll has reached 331,895, health ministry data showed.

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Iraq

Iraq's Ministry of Health on Monday reported 4,270 new COVID-19 cases during the past 24 hours, raising the nationwide caseload to 1,201,352.

The ministry also confirmed 24 new deaths, bringing the death toll from the virus to 16,375, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 4,990 to 1,116,456.

Israel

The number of active coronavirus cases in Israel has dropped to 350, the ministry of health said Monday.

This is the lowest number of active COVID-19 cases in Israel since March 17, 2020, only 18 days since the first case was detected in the country.

The ministry also reported 21 new coronavirus infections, bringing the total tally to 839,475.

The death toll in Israel rose to 6,412 with four new fatalities, while the number of patients in serious condition decreased from 50 to 49, out of 91 hospitalized patients.

Commuters walk near Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, Japan, on May 31, 2021. (KAZUHIRO NOGI / AFP)

Japan

Despite an extended COVID-19 state of emergency coming into effect for Tokyo and eight other prefectures, department stores, cinemas and amusement parks in Tokyo and the western prefecture of Osaka were allowed to reopen Tuesday.

In a bid to find a balance between curbing the virus spread and easing the economic chokehold on stores and entertainment spots, the Japanese government decided on new guidelines when the virus emergency was extended last week.

Japan plans to start COVID-19 vaccination at workplaces and universities on June 21 to speed up the country's inoculation drive, a top government spokesman said on Tuesday.

Moderna Inc vaccines will be used for those areas, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a news conference.

Some members of the Japanese government’s coronavirus expert panel warned that it would be “difficult” to hold the Tokyo Olympics this summer if the capital’s virus situation remains at the highest of four levels, the Asahi newspaper reported.

Meanwhile, the first group of foreign athletes arrived in Japan on Tuesday for training ahead of the Games, Kyodo said. The Australian women’s softball team flew in to Narita airport, and are fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, the organizers of the Games are making preparations to hold the events with spectators, provided they present either a negative test result or vaccination certification, broadcaster TV Asahi said.

Kuwait

The Kuwaiti Health Ministry reported on Monday 1,410 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total infections in the country to 309,222.

The ministry also announced one more fatality, taking the death toll in Kuwait to 1,772, while the tally of recoveries rose by 1,198 to 293,899.

Mongolia

Mongolia's COVID-19 tally rose by 790 to 59,229 in the last 24 hours, the country's health ministry said Tuesday.

The national death toll climbed to 297 with seven more fatalities, and total recoveries rose to 50,763 as 327 more patients had recovered, according to the ministry.

Pakistan

Pakistan recorded 1,771 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday with a test positivity rate of 3.72 percent, marking an obvious drop in the Asian country's daily cases, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) said on Tuesday.

According to the NCOC, the total number of confirmed cases in the country rose to 922,824 Tuesday, including 844,638 recoveries.

ROK

The Republic of Korea's (ROK) military personnel rushed to sign up for Johnson and Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, as the country expanded its vaccination campaign and eased restrictions on inoculated people in a bid to encourage immunization.

The ROK received one million doses of the vaccine this week after the United States almost doubled a pledge made during President Moon Jae-in's first summit with US President Joe Biden last month.

Authorities have designated the J&J vaccine for military-related personnel, including reserve forces and the civil defence corps, as well as people planning overseas business trips or diplomatic missions.

Around 3.7 million people are eligible to receive the single-dose vaccine and some 646,000 have signed up so far since reservations began on Tuesday.

The ROK reported 459 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Monday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 140,799.

Four more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 1,963. The total fatality rate stood at 1.39 percent.

Thailand

Thailand’s government approved a set of economic stimulus measures worth 140 billion baht (US$4.5 billion) to counter the impact from the nation’s biggest coronavirus outbreak yet.

The measures - which include cash handouts to welfare-card holders and special groups, co-payments and cash rebates - are expected to be implemented from July, Anucha Burapachaisri, a government spokesman, said Tuesday.

Thailand’s economy is facing strong headwinds from the country’s latest COVID-19 outbreak, which has totaled more than 130,000 cases since it began in Bangkok nightlife venues in April. Bank of Thailand Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput said Monday the economy may not return to pre-pandemic growth levels until early 2023, three quarters later than previously expected.

Thailand’s COVID-19 task force overturned Bangkok’s plan to relax restrictions on June 1 as the capital struggles to contain its worst wave of coronavirus infections. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration had earlier said that businesses including beauty clinics, nail salons and spas would be allowed to reopen from Tuesday, but the national task force rescinded the announcement, and ordered an extension of the closures until at least June 14.

The country’s capital and largest city remains the epicenter of the current outbreak. Since the resurgence began in early April, infections have spread from Bangkok’s night-entertainment venues into the capital city’s crowded communities and construction-worker camps. Since April 1, a third of Thailand’s new cases have been reported in Bangkok.

The Philippines

The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported on Tuesday 5,177 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the tally in the Southeast Asian country to 1,235,467.

The death toll rose to 21,012 after 46 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH said.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday prolonged partial coronavirus curbs in the capital and nearby provinces until mid-June to contain infections that have been decreasing since hitting a peak in April.

Religious gathering remain capped at 30 percent of venue capacity while dining in restaurants can operate at 20 percent in the capital region, an urban sprawl of 16 cities that is home to at least 13 million people, and nearby provinces.

Non-essential travels will remain prohibited.

Daily COVID-19 cases in the Philippines averaged roughly 6,300 for May, down by a third from April, after the government reduced operating capacity of businesses and limited the movement of people.

Duterte also extended a ban on inbound travel from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates until June 15, to prevent transmission of the coronavirus variant first discovered in India that is circulating widely in that country and the region.

READ MORE: Singapore prepares to reopen as virus cases stabilize

Turkey

Turkey further eased measures meant to curb coronavirus infections on Monday including partially lifting a weekend lockdown and opening restaurants to a limited number of guests.

President Tayyip Erdogan said the lighter measures, in response to falling cases, would go into effect Tuesday. Under the new rules, nationwide daily curfews are delayed by an hour to 10 pm.

Erdogan lifted virtually all social restrictions in March but backtracked in April when daily cases soared above 60,000, making Turkey briefly second globally. A partial lockdown was imposed from the end of April to May 17.

Turkey, with a population of 84 million, recorded 6,493 new coronavirus cases on Monday.

Vietnam

Vietnam is seeking to buy COVID-19 vaccine production technology and wants to build a plant to supply the COVAX programme, its health ministry said on Tuesday, as the country tries to step up vaccinations to stem a new outbreak of infections.

India and South Africa are among developing countries that have been pushing for an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines. But even with a surprise US shift last month to support a waiver World Trade Organization talks on the issue on Monday failed to achieve a breakthrough. 

"Vietnam would build the plant and would like to receive the patent so it could supply vaccines to COVAX, to other countries as well as to Vietnam," the ministry said in a statement, following a meeting with COVAX representatives overnight.

Vietnam on Monday also pushed for private procurement of vaccines, as it races to secure supplies and tackle an outbreak that has seen its cases more than double in the past month.

Vietnam reported 111 new COVID-19 cases from 6:00 pm local time Monday to 6:00 am Tuesday, raising the total confirmed cases in the country to 7,432, according to the Ministry of Health.