Police officers detain a protestor in Sydney on Aug 21, 2021, following calls for an anti-lockdown protest rally amid a fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak. (DAVID GRAY / AFP)

MELBOURNE/ MANILA/ TEHRAN / ANKARA/ JERUSALEM/ WELLINGTON /NEW DELHI - 

Australian police arrested hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters in Melbourne and Sydney on Saturday and seven officers were hospitalized as a result of clashes, as the country saw its highest ever single-day rise in COVID-19 cases.

Mounted police used pepper spray in Melbourne to break up crowds of more than 4,000 surging toward police lines, while smaller groups of protesters were prevented from congregating in Sydney by a large contingent of riot police.

Victoria state police said that they arrested 218 people in the state capital Melbourne. They issued 236 fines and kept three people in custody for assaulting police. The arrested people face fines of A$5,452 (US$3,900) each for breaching public health orders.

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Police in New South Wales, where Sydney is the capital, said they charged 47 people with breaching public health orders or resisting arrest, among other offences, and issued more than 260 fines ranging from A$50 (US$35) to A$3,000. The police said about 250 people made it to the city for the protest.

Sydney, Australia's biggest city with more than 5 million people, has been in a strict lockdown for more than two months, failing to contain an outbreak that has spread across internal borders and as far as neighboring New Zealand.

New South Wales police question a visitor to a park in Sydney on Aug 21, 2021, following calls for an anti-lockdown protest rally amid a fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak. (DAVID GARY / AFP)

The vast majority of the 894 cases reported across Australia on Saturday were found in Sydney, the epicenter of the Delta variant-fueled outbreak.

"We are in a very serious situation here in New South Wales," said state Health Minister Brad Hazzard. "There is no time now to be selfish, it's time to think of the broader community and your families."

Just 7 percent of Australians support the often-violent protests, according to a late-July poll by market research firm Utting Research

Police patrolled Sydney's streets and blocked private and public transport into the city center to reduce the number of people gathering at an unauthorized protest.

In Melbourne, the country's second-most populous city, a large crowd managed to march and some clashed with police, after state Premier Daniel Andrews expanded a city lockdown to the entire state.

Several hundred people also protested peacefully in Brisbane, which is not in lockdown.

Just 7 percent of Australians support the often-violent protests, according to a late-July poll by market research firm Utting Research.

Compliance with public health rules has been one of the key cited reasons behind Australia's success, relative to other rich countries, in managing the pandemic. But the country has been struggling to rein in the third wave of infections that began in Sydney in mid-June.

Australia has had about 43,000 COVID-19 cases and 978 deaths. But while those numbers are low, only about a third of Australians aged 16 and above have been fully vaccinated, according to federal health ministry data released on Saturday.

New South Wales officials reported three deaths and 516 people in hospital on Saturday. Of the 85 people in intensive care, 76 were unvaccinated, officials said.

At least 96 people were active in the community during their infectious period, and there were a number of breaches of public health orders, all slowing the efforts to curtail the outbreak.

In Victoria, at least 39 people were active in the community while infectious. Eighteen people were in hospital, eight in intensive care and six on ventilators.

India

India's COVID-19 tally rose to 32,393,286 on Saturday as 34,457 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, according to data from the federal health ministry.

The country also logged 375 COVID-related deaths, taking the tally to 433,964.

Iran

Iran registered on Friday 28,833 new COVID-19 cases, taking the national count to 4,616,516, according to the Ministry of Health and Medical Education.

The countrywide death toll now hits 100,810, after 555 new deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours.

Israel

Israel's Ministry of Health reported 7,605 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the tally of infections in the country to 978,212.

The death toll from the coronavirus rose by 11 to 6,759, while the number of patients in serious condition decreased from 599 to 597, the ministry said.

New Zealand

New Zealand recorded 21 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warning the number will go higher in the next few days and urging the Pacific nation to adhere to the lockdown rules.

The infections in the community outbreak of the highly transmissible Delta variant now total 51. Of the 21 new cases, 18 are in the largest city, Auckland, and three in the capital, Wellington.

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New Zealand recorded the highest number of COVID-19 tests and vaccination doses on Friday, said Ardern.

Additional testing centers were set up across Auckland and Wellington to cater to the surging needs for testing.

She reminded the public to avoid unnecessary contacts during the national lockdown.

"The virus can continue to spread during lockdown if people break the rules," said Ardern. 

Palestine 

Palestine on Friday recorded the highest daily count of 1,026 COVID-19 cases in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in weeks, a Palestinian health official said.

The ministry registered one fatality and 293 recoveries in the last 24 hours, said Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila in a press statement.

Philippines

China delivered an additional batch of Sinovac CoronaVac vaccines to the Philippines Saturday morning to support the Southeast Asian country's inoculation campaign against the COVID-19 pandemic.

China has been delivering Sinovac to the Philippines since Feb 28, and more than 50 percent of the COVID-19 vaccines delivered to the Philippines come from China.

The Philippines has administered over 29 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Nearly 13 million people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 so far. The government aims to vaccinate up to 70 million people this year.

Meanwhile, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the health and budget ministries to arrange payment for healthcare workers who have not received their benefits on time, following nurses' threats to resign and strike warnings by unions.

Hospitals fear that desertions of medical staff, particularly nurses, have reached a critical point just as the Delta variant sends infections cases soaring, as it has elsewhere in Southeast Asia and globally. 

The Philippines now has over 1.8 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 31,198 deaths. On Friday, it recorded 17,231 new COVID-19 infections, the highest ever daily tally since the outbreak began in January last year. 

People receive a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at a vaccination site in the Seodaemun district of Seoul, South Korea, on July 14, 2021. (BLOOMBERG)

South Korea

South Korea expects half of its population to be fully inoculated by the end of September as the pace of vaccinations in the country picks up.

“The progress is faster than expected,” President Moon Jae-in wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday. “Over 50% of the population has now received their first vaccine dose, and the pace of them receiving their second shots is quickening.”

South Korea has one of the lowest inoculation rates among major Asian economies as cases surged to record highs this month. That triggered the government to extend the strongest social distancing rules for another two weeks. The country on Saturday reported that 1,880 new coronavirus cases were added in the past 24 hours.

Thailand

Thailand is seeing signs that daily infections are starting to level off, the Bangkok Post reported, citing Apisamai Srirangson, an assistant spokeswoman for the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration. The country reported 20,571 new cases Saturday, with the daily rate having declined from the recent peak of over 23,000 on Aug 13. Total cumulative infections in Thailand surpassed 1 million on Friday as the Delta strain sweeps through the Southeast Asian nation.

Turkey

Turkey on Friday confirmed 19,918 new COVID-19 cases, raising its tally of infections to 6,177,690, according to its Health Ministry.

The death toll from the virus rose by 204 to 54,095, while 15,561 more people recovered in the last 24 hours.

Vietnam

Vietnam’s military will begin distributing food to residents in Ho Chi Minh City as the nation’s commercial hub tightens the enforcement of its stay-home orders amid the country’s worst coronavirus outbreak.

Authorities are increasingly concerned that months of tough anti-virus measures have yet to contain the spread of Covid-19, and aim to further reduce movements by Ho Chi Minh City residents. They have already been restricted from leaving home and can do so for only essential reasons, such as getting food, seeking medical treatment or going to work-sites approved by the government.

The Southeast Asia country is battling its worst coronavirus wave with a record 10,650 domestic new virus cases and 390 deaths reported Friday. Ho Chi Minh City is the nation’s pandemic epicenter with more than 165,000 reported domestic patients since April 27, the start of latest national outbreak. The city has recorded 80 percent of the country’s COVID-19 deaths.