The shopping precinct at Bunda Street is deserted in Canberra, Australia, Aug 13, 2021. (PHOTO/BLOOMBERG)

BENGALURU/ ISLAMABAD/ JERUSALEM/ ANKARA/ KATHMANDU/NEW DELHI/PHNOM PENH/COLOMBO/JAKARTA - Australian police hiked fines for people breaking lockdown rules in Sydney and the rest of its home state on Saturday and strict stay-at-home orders were extended statewide amid a record jump in daily new COVID-19 infections.

New South Wales state recorded 466 new cases in the local community Saturday, up 19 percent from the previous record the day before. The vast majority of new cases were in Sydney, which is failing to contain the outbreak despite entering its eighth week of lockdown against the Delta strain, which increasingly is spreading into other areas of the continent.

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"We have to accept that this is the worst situation New South Wales has been in since day one. And it's also regrettably, because of that, the worst situation Australia's been in," New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters Saturday.

From Monday, there will be a “visible and increased police presence” in areas hardest-hit by the outbreak, including members of the riot squad, and an extra 500 soldiers to enforce compliance on top of the 300 already on the ground, Berejiklian said. Fines will be ramped up, including A$5,000 ($3,685) for quarantine breaches and A$3,000 for exercising outside of guidelines.

Police officers stand guard in Sydney, Australia as the authorities tighten virus-related restrictions. (PHOTO/BLOOMBERG)

The Delta variant is placing increased pressure on Australia’s so-called “Covid Zero” strategy, which has relied on closed international borders and rigorous testing to eliminate community transmission of the virus. That has prompted state governments to put about half the nation’s population of 26 million people under lockdown, threatening an economic recovery.

While residents of Sydney and other locked-down areas had been told prior to Saturday’s announcement not to leave home unless it couldn’t be avoided, there was a lengthy list of exemptions — such as for outside exercise or essential work — that some had been using liberally. From Monday, all residents of the city will be required to shop and exercise within 5 kilometers of home.

Philippines

The Philippine health minister, facing questions over more than US$1 billion in COVID-19 spending, denied on Saturday that any money was "stolen", as his department vowed to account for every peso.

The country is battling one of Asia's worst coronavirus outbreaks, and the spread of the virulent Delta variant is overwhelming hospitals and healthcare workers. 

"You will be assured that no money went into corruption. None was stolen. I am sure of that," Health Secretary Francisco Duque told DZMM radio on Saturday.

The state auditor has flagged "deficiencies" involving 67.3 billion pesos (US$1.33 billion), casting doubts on the regularity of related transactions in the country's pandemic response.

The health ministry said it will submit its explanation, including required documents, to the state auditor next week, ahead of a Sept 27 deadline.

With more than 1.71 million infections and 29,838 deaths, the Philippines has the second-highest COVID-19 cases and fatalities in Southeast Asia, next to Indonesia.

The Manila capital region, an urban sprawl of 16 cities that is home to more than 13 million people, remains under a strict lockdown to contain the spread of the Delta variant.

Only around 11 percent of the country's 110 million people are fully immunized.

Japan

Japan plans to expand the pool of businesses subject to COVID-19 restrictions to include shops that operate from the basement floor of shopping malls, which are often connected to subway stations, the Sankei newspaper reported.

This comes after major retailer Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd closed some basement outlets earlier this month after a number of cases at its flagship store in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district, broadcaster FNN reported last week. 

Indonesia

Indonesia's capital reopened its retail malls this week to an exclusive crowd - shoppers vaccinated against coronavirus.

With restrictions still in place in much of Indonesia, Jakarta's malls are allowed to operate at 25 percent capacity to try to keep the economy moving, but customers must prove via a smartphone application that they've received at least one vaccination.

Indonesia is fighting to contain a long-running outbreak fuelled by the Delta variant, with more than 3.8 million cases and 115,000 deaths recorded overall, one of Asia's worst epidemics.

Like many countries in Asia, Indonesia has struggled to secure vaccines fast enough amid fierce global competition, heightened by the rapid spread of the Delta variant.

India

Indian vaccine maker Bharat Biotech's nasal COVID-19 vaccine candidate has received regulatory approval for mid- to late-stage trials, the government's ministry of science and technology said in a statement on Friday.

Early stage trials of the vaccine candidate, BBV154, has been completed in subjects aged 18 to 60 years, and the doses were found to be well tolerated, the statement said.

COVAXIN, the company's COVID-19 vaccine already approved for emergency use approval in the country, is administered through an injection.

"Bharat Biotech's BBV154 Covid Vaccine is the first intranasal vaccine being developed in the country entering into late-stage clinical trials," said Renu Swarup, chairperson of the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council.

Coronavirus cases in India have sharply dropped from the devastating peak of the second wave seen in April and May, while experts have said widespread vaccination remains the country's best defense against any further waves of the disease.

India's COVID-19 tally rose to 32,156,493 on Saturday as 38,667 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, data from the federal health ministry showed.

A batch of China-donated COVID-19 vaccines arrives at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Aug 13, 2021. (PHOTO/XINHUA)

Bangladesh

To strengthen its campaign against the alarming spike in the COVID-19 spread in the country, Bangladesh has planned to sign an agreement with China for vaccine co-production, reported Pakistani daily The Nation, citing Bangladeshi Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen.

The agreement would be signed very soon and the co-production will start in a few weeks, the foreign minster was quoted as saying in a recent report.

Earlier on Tuesday, Minister-Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka Yan Hualong also confirmed in a Facebook post the planned cooperation between the two countries.

Bangladesh's Health Ministry also confirmed that 1.7 million Chinese Sinopharm vaccines, under the UN's COVAX facility, has arrived in Dhaka.

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Bangladesh has registered 1.4 million COVID-19 cases with over 23,000 deaths and more than 1.2 million recoveries.

Sri Lankan

Sri Lankan authorities have made it mandatory for citizens above the age of 30 years old to carry their vaccination cards when they visit public places from Sept 15 in a bid to curb the rising spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, Army Commander and Head of the National Operations Center for Prevention of COVID-19 General Shavendra Silva said here Friday.

In a statement, Silva said the vaccination cards, which should mention the dates of both the jabs, should be shown to officials when citizens visit public places such as supermarkets, restaurants, parks, etc.

Sri Lanka is presently in the midst of a nationwide vaccination program, with over 11 million first doses administered to those above 30 years old of age.

Nepal

Nepal's central bank on Friday announced a set of relief measures for enterprises and individuals affected badly by the COVID-19 pandemic as the economic recovery is being reversed by the second wave of the virus.

The Nepali government was forced to re-impose a lockdown in late April in the Kathmandu Valley and other parts of the country to cope with the second wave of the epidemic that befell earlier in the month, a move that is cutting short the recovery process.

While unveiling the monetary policy for the 2021-22 fiscal year that began in mid-July, Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank Maha Prasad Adhikari announced a number of relief measures, including the extension of loan repayment deadline, reduction of instalment amount, restructuring and rescheduling of loans and credits at cheaper interest rates, for enterprises and individuals suffering from the epidemic.

For restaurants, party venues, public transportation services, educational institutes and the entertainment sector which have been hit hard by the pandemic, the repayment deadline is extended by one year.

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"If the borrowers in these sectors were supposed to pay the loans by mid-January next year, they can pay the loans within an additional one year," said Adhikari.

The central bank has also allowed these borrowers to pay loans in at least four instalments so as to ease the pressure on them.

Israel

Israel's Ministry of Health reported 5,743 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the tally of infections in the country to 929,274.

The death toll from the coronavirus in Israel rose by nine to 6,611, the ministry said.

Turkey

Turkey on Friday registered 21,372 new COVID-19 cases, raising its tally of infections to 6,039,857, according to its health ministry.

The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 157 to 52,860, while 16,492 more people recovered in the last 24 hours.  

Cambodia

Cambodia's Ministry of Health announced Friday night that another 65 new cases of the Delta COVID-19 variant were found, raising the total number of such cases in the Southeast Asian nation to 494.

Laboratory testing conducted by the Pasteur Institute in Cambodia detected the Delta variant on 44 local people, 17 laborers coming back from Thailand through land border and four returnees from the United States, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore, the ministry said in a statement.

The local infections were spotted in capital Phnom Penh and the provinces of Kampong Cham, Battambang, Siem Reap, Preah Vihear, among others, it said.