A portrait of a woman is laid on her grave at the Rorotan Cemetery which is reserved for those who died of COVID-19, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, July 7, 2021. (TATAN SYUFLANA / AP)

UNITED NATIONS / SINGAPORE / MANILA / COLOMBO / KUALA LUMPUR / BANGKOK / NEW DELHI / TOKYO / HANOI / DHAKA - Indonesia reported on Wednesday more than 1,000 coronavirus deaths in a day for the first time, as a surge in infections overwhelmed parts of the hospital system in densely populated Java and with portable oxygen supplies running out in six towns.

The spike in fatalities comes amid concerns about the new outbreak spreading across the archipelago, prompting authorities to monitor daily cases and bed occupancy in 43 areas deemed "red zones" and urge strict implementation of mobility curbs.

"This is to suppress infections, to prevent a big surge like what's happening in Java," Airlangga Hartarto, Indonesia’s chief economic minister, told reporters.

The world’s fourth most populous nation has implemented its tightest restrictions so far on Java and Bali islands after an exponential jump in COVID-19 cases, fuelled by the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, first identified in India.

Still, with bigger outbreaks now occurring in places like Papua and Sumatra, regional leaders have been urged to implement curbs, including ensuring offices and malls operate at 25 percent capacity, and restaurants and malls close by 5 pm.

With criticism growing over Indonesia's response, an alliance of non-governmental organisations, including Amnesty International Indonesia and the Legal Aid Institute, called on the government to apologize for mishandling the COVID-19 crisis.

Authorities on Wednesday threatened to revoke licences of companies staying open and issued guidelines on office capacity for critical businesses after raiding dozens of companies for flouting rules.

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Singapore

Singapore plans to further relax restrictions with bigger group sizes allowed at restaurants from next week, while it works towards a larger reopening once at least half of the population is fully vaccinated.

From July 12, dine-in at food outlets will be increased to up to five people, from two people currently, in line with the current rules on gathering limits. Wedding receptions as well as limited social gatherings at workplace may also resume, the statement said.

Once at least 50 percent of Singapore residents are fully vaccinated, expected around the end of the month, the government is looking to relax rules around dining, office work and events even more, especially for those who’ve been fully vaccinated.

Nearly 2.2 million people have officially completed their vaccination regimen, and 3.6 million have received at least one dose of Moderna or Pfizer shots, according to the ministry’s website. About 17,000 have received Sinovac shots, the spokesman said.

Australia

The leader of Australia's New South Wales (NSW) state on Wednesday ordered a week-long extension of Sydney's COVID-19 lockdown, warning new cases are bound to rise as the country's biggest city grapples with the highly infectious Delta variant.

Sydney, home to a fifth of Australia's 25 million people, was plunged into lockdown on June 26 as a Delta variant outbreak persuaded officials to tighten restrictions in a country that has been slow to vaccinate. Strict stay-at-home orders were due to end on Friday, but now remain in place until July 16.

"This Delta strain is a game-changer, it is extremely transmissible and more contagious than any other form of the virus that we've seen," NSW state Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.

With Sydney fighting its worst outbreak of the year so far, total infections have topped 350 since the first case was detected three weeks ago in a limousine driver who transported overseas airline crew.

A total of 27 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 were reported on Wednesday in NSW, up from 18 a day earlier. Of the new cases, 20 were either in isolation throughout or for part of their infectious period, while seven cases spent time in the community while they were infectious.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh on Wednesday recorded the highest single-day deaths from COVID-19 at 201, bringing the death toll to 15,593, said the country's Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

The official data showed 11,162 more confirmed cases were recorded in Bangladesh, raising the total to 977,568.

Malaysia

When Malaysian mother Hadijah Neamat was struggling to cope during the coronavirus lockdown, she hung a scrap of white cloth outside her window in a plea for help.

The #benderaputih (white flag) campaign has gained momentum on social media in a bid to encourage people to help others in distress during a prolonged lockdown in Malaysia.

Indeed, shortly after Hadijah, 73, put up the flag a neighbour came by to offer her food and other items.

"I thought it would be outsiders who would come to help, like wealthy people or ministers or important people," said Hadijah, who lives in a densely populated district of Petaling Jaya in Selangor state near the capital, Kuala Lumpur.

"But they said ‘We are neighbours. If someone puts up a white flag, of course we need to be concerned’," she added, saying she was surprised by the act of generosity on her doorstep.

Malaysia's Health Ministry reported 7,097 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total tally to 799,790.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press statement that 26 of the new cases are imported and 7,071 are locally transmitted.

An additional 91 deaths from COVID-19 were recorded in the Southeast Asian country, bringing the overall death toll to 5,768.

Thailand 

Thailand plans to convert a terminal at the nation’s main international airport into a field hospital as a surge in coronavirus infections that’s straining the nation’s public health system shows little sign of easing.

Airports of Thailand Pcl, operator of the Suvarnabhumi International Airport, has been asked to convert the newly completed terminal into a facility with an intensive-care unit, medical rooms and support for patients with mild to medium symptoms. The hospital will initially provide at least 5,000 patient beds, according to a government statement late Tuesday.

Medical facilities are already at capacity, and deaths could double by August if the outbreak doesn’t ease, Kumnuan Ungchusak, an expert in epidemiology and adviser to the Health Ministry said at a seminar last week. Most cases have emerged from Bangkok, which continues to report the most infections and deaths each day.

The highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 has now become the dominant coronavirus variant in Bangkok, the latest data from Thailand's Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) have showed.

New cases of the Delta variant recorded in Thailand's capital from June 28 to July 2 accounted for 52 percent of the total infections, according to the CCSA.

The Alpha variant, first detected in Britain, made up for 47 percent of the cases in Bangkok and 65.1 percent nationwide.

Driven largely by the variants, infections in Thailand have remain elevated. With 6,519 cases reported on Wednesday, the total cases in Thailand since the start of the pandemic has surpassed 300,000.

New Zealand

New Zealand said on Wednesday that its health regulator Medsafe has given provisional approval for a coronavirus vaccine developed by Janssen, the pharmaceutical unit of Johnson & Johnson.

The Janssen COVID-19 vaccine was approved for individuals 18 years of age and older, COVID-19 Minister Chris Hipkins said in an announcement.

“The medical evidence shows Janssen is a very safe and effective vaccine. It is a great addition to our vaccine options,” Hipkins said, adding that the country had secured 2 million doses of the Janssen vaccine through an advance purchase agreement last year.

The Philippines

The Philippines expects to receive as many as 30 million COVID-19 vaccine doses this month and next, according to its vaccine czar, who also apologized for supply delays that halted inoculation in some cities.

About 16 million doses will arrive in July that would include vaccines donated by Japan and U.S., those committed under Covax as well as shots procured by companies, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez said in a recorded briefing aired Tuesday night. Around 14 million doses are expected in August, he said.

Several cities in the Philippine capital region have halted their first-dose vaccination programs as supply from the national government runs out.

The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported on Wednesday 4,289 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 1,450,110.

The death toll climbed to 25,459 after 164 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH said.

Japan

Japan is considering banning all spectators from the Olympics, several sources told Reuters on Wednesday, with authorities expected to declare a state of emergency for Tokyo to contain coronavirus infections 16 days before the Games begin.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said his government would decide on new measures to stop the spread of the virus on Thursday. Those measures are expected to determine whether spectators can attend Olympic events.

Medical experts have said for weeks that having no spectators at the Olympics would be the least risky option amid widespread public concern that the Games will fuel new surges of coronavirus infections.

Organizers have already banned overseas spectators and set a cap on domestic spectators at 50 percent of capacity, up to 10,000 people, to contain a lingering coronavirus outbreak.

The Tokyo 2020 organizing committee said restrictions on spectators would be based on the content of Japan’s coronavirus state of emergency or other relevant measures.

Japanese Emperor Naruhito received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday at the Akasaka Imperial Residence in Tokyo, public broadcaster NHK reports, citing the Imperial Household Agency.

The Japanese government is considering tighter alcohol restrictions in Tokyo and its three surrounding prefectures as it struggles to contain Covid outbreak in the capital area, Nikkei reports, without citing anyone.

Suga and relevant cabinet ministers reached agreement Tuesday that stricter restrictions on alcohol are needed if the government were to extend its controling measures in the area.

Iraq

The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday 8,818 COVID-19 infections, the highest daily record, raising the nationwide caseload to 1,388,323.

The ministry also confirmed 31 new deaths, bringing the death toll from the virus to 17,376, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 5,998 to 1,277,242.

A total of 11,988,129 tests have been carried out in Iraq since the outbreak of the disease last year, with 52,610 done during the day, the ministry said in a statement.

The statement also said 35,860 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 during the past 24 hours across the country, bringing the total number of doses administered to 959,928.

Ruba Falah, head of the ministry's media office, said in a press release that the recent increase in infections is largely due to the indifference of most citizens to the seriousness of the pandemic.

Turkey

Turkey on Tuesday confirmed 5,299 new COVID-19 cases, raising its tally of infections to 5,454,763.

The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 37 to 49,996, while 4,446 more people recovered in the last 24 hours, said the Turkish Health Ministry.

A total of 226,651 tests were conducted over the past day, it said.

Turkey started mass COVID-19 vaccination on Jan. 14 after the authorities approved the emergency use of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan authorities have banned all public gatherings including protests as the number of COVID-19 cases continued to rise throughout the country, the health ministry said here Wednesday.

The police said all public gatherings and protests had been banned until further notice under the instructions issued by the Director General of Health Services.

The police have warned anyone taking part in such gatherings will face arrests.

"There is a high risk of the spread of COVID-19 disease by engaging in activities such as public gatherings and protests," police officials said.

"If anyone is caught in such activities, we will arrest them for violating quarantine laws," police officials added.

India

India's health minister resigned ahead of a cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday, officials said, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking to reinvigorate an administration that has been heavily criticized for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan quit, a source close to the minister said, paying the political price for the government's struggles to cope with a devastating second wave of coronavirus infections. 

India expects to receive 3 million to 4 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 shots through the COVAX facility by August, two sources said, as it tries to expand inoculations to prevent another surge in infections.

COVAX, led by the GAVI vaccine alliance and the World Health Organization (WHO), could ship the U.S.-made doses to India as early as this month, one of the sources aware of the discussions told Reuters.

"It's a donation through COVAX," said the source. Both sources declined to be named as the discussions are private.

Experts have said India needs to administer 10 million doses a day to achieve its aim of immunizing all adults by December. It administered about 4 million doses a day in the week to July 2.

Vietnam

Vietnam will impose restrictions at its commercial hub Ho Chi Minh city for 15 days starting Friday to tackle coronavirus outbreak, state media reported on Wednesday.

The move will "ensure the safety for people's health and life," Tuoi Tre newspaper cited the chairman of the city's People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong as saying.

The measures will instruct people to stay indoors unless necessary and bars gatherings of two people or more people. Public transport services will be halted, according to the report.

Israel

The total number of active COVID-19 cases in Israel rose by 336 to 3,102, the highest since April 13, the Israeli Ministry of Health said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the ministry reported 502 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total infections in the country to 843,892.

The death toll from the virus currently stands at 6,429, while the number of patients in serious condition rose from 35 to 38, it said.

The total recoveries from the disease in Israel rose to 834,361 after 166 newly recovered cases were added, the ministry said.

READ MORE: Vietnam reports highest daily tally, total surpasses 20,000