People cross a road along the Orchard Road shopping district in Singapore on Sept 7, 2021. (ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP)

TOKYO / SYDNEY / BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / NEW DELHI / TEHRAN / KUALA LUMPUR / YANGON / WELLINGTON / ISLAMABAD / SINGAPORE / SEOUL / ANKARA / HANOI / ULAN BATOR / MANILA / JAKARTA - The rapid pace of new COVID-19 infections and a doubling of seriously ill patients in Singapore have raised unexpected hurdles to reopening plans for the vaccination frontrunner, where 81 percent of the population is fully vaccinated.

Singapore, one of the fastest in the world to reach that level, has seen its inoculation rates plateau, and this month paused its gradual reopening plans, spooked by daily infections that returned to one-year peaks this month.

Infections over the weekend were more than a combined 1,000 cases, a tenfold increase from a month ago. Many experts, though, are not overly concerned about the rise in infections because of the low number of serious cases and Singapore's high vaccination percentage.

The number of patients requiring oxygen, however, doubled to a record 54 on Sunday from two days before, an important gauge to judge whether the medical system could get overwhelmed.

The number of patients in intensive care units (ICU) have held at a low seven. Around 300 ICU beds are available and that could be increased to 1,000.

The government has said it will pause further opening for now and that it does not see a need for tighter curbs, although it has not ruled them out either.

In Singapore, the percentage of unvaccinated who became severely ill or died was 5.2 percent as of Sunday. For the fully vaccinated that percentage was 1 percent.

Singapore confirmed 520 new cases of locally transmitted COVID-19 infection and five imported cases on Sunday, bringing the tally in the city-state to 71,687, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a statement.

Australia

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison asked the whole country to "continue to press forward" for COVID-19 vaccination targets as the country battles the third wave of infections.

Under Morrison's pathway out of the pandemic, Australia will start to reopen in phases when 70 percent of adults are fully vaccinated.

"I encourage everybody from tomorrow over 12s, 12 to 15-year-olds will be able to get the vaccine," he said in a press conference on Sunday afternoon.

"So we now need to continue to surge forward in these final weeks and months of the programme to get us to those vaccination targets set out in the national plan."

Australia's New South Wales state, the epicenter of the country's worst coronavirus outbreak, on Monday reported 1,257 locally acquired cases, down slightly from 1,262 a day earlier.

Seven additional deaths were registered in the state, taking the total number of deaths in the latest outbreak to 184.

Hospitals in Australia’s most populous state risk being overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases by the end of the year if the government’s reopening plan is executed, according to a modeling from public health body OzSAGE, released Monday.

A second peak of infections will hit New South Wales state if restrictions are eased next month, when 70 percent of the adult population is inoculated, said Raina MacIntyre, a professor of global biosecurity at the University of New South Wales who conducted the modeling.

A further easing when 80 percent of adults are fully vaccinated will cause a so-called “code black” situation where hospitals are overwhelmed over December and into January, she said.

Brunei

A total of 100,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine contributed by the Chinese government to Brunei arrived at Brunei International Airport on Sunday midnight.

A handover ceremony was held at the airport, attended by Haji Erywan, Brunei's second minister of foreign affairs on behalf of the Brunei government and Yu Hong, Chinese ambassador to Brunei, representing the Chinese government.

Also in attendance were senior government officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the Ministry of Health of Brunei and representatives from the Chinese embassy in the country.

India

India is worried that growing complacency as COVID-19 infection rates and deaths decline could lead to people skipping their second vaccine shots, leaving communities vulnerable to the coronavirus, said two health experts briefed on the matter.

India has administered more than 744 million vaccine doses - with 60 percent of its 944 million adults getting a first shot and 19 percent fully vaccinated with the required two shots.

"There's a concern among the highest quarters of an impending vaccine hesitancy, in view of most taking a single dose already and disease incidence at its lowest," said one of the sources, both of whom declined to be identified.

Large numbers of people skipping their second dose would be particularly problematic in areas with low numbers of previously infected people, meaning more people with fewer antibodies so those communities would be more vulnerable, the first expert said.

The second expert said the health ministry had told states to encourage people to get their second doses as soon as possible, so on the 12th week after their first dose, rather than waiting for the latest date, in a bid to ensure people don't miss the second shot.

India's COVID-19 tally rose to 33,264,175 on Monday, as 27,254 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry's latest data.

Besides, as many as 219 deaths due to the pandemic were reported since Sunday morning, taking the total death toll to 442,874.

Most of the new cases and deaths were reported from the southern state of Kerala.

Indonesia

Indonesia has eased its COVID-19 restrictions on the popular tourist resort island of Bali, Maritime and Investment Minister Luhut Panjaitan said a virtual conference on Monday.

The level of restrictions on the island and elsewhere in Indonesia will be evaluated on a weekly basis, he added.

Indonesia reported its fewest new coronavirus cases since May, before the spread of the Delta variant led to its worst COVID-19 outbreak.

There were 2,577 new cases confirmed on Monday, the least since May 15. Deaths have also eased, with 276 fatalities reported on Monday, compared with the three-month low of 188 on Sunday. 

In total, the country has reported 4,170,088 confirmed cases and 139,165 deaths, the Health Ministry said.

To date, at least 42.10 million people in the country have received two shots of vaccines, while 73.31 million have taken the first dose, the ministry added.

Iran

Iran's Health Ministry on Sunday reported 20,219 new COVID-19 cases, taking the country's total infections to 5,295,786

The pandemic has so far claimed 114,311 lives in the country, after 487 new deaths were registered in the past 24 hours, said the update by Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education.

Spectators watch the women's football WE League opening ceremony prior to the match between Tokyo Verdy Beleza and Urawa Reds Ladies in Tokyo on Sept 12, 2021. (KAZUHIRO NOGI / AFP)

Japan

Over 50 percent of Japan's population have received two shots of a COVID-19 vaccine, the minister in charge of the coronavirus response said on Sunday.

Yasutoshi Nishimura said on a TV program that "If vaccination moves ahead at the current pace, it will surpass 60 percent by the end of this month."

Although the vaccination rollout started late in Japan compared with other developed economies, the Japanese government has put efforts on accelerating the progress with goals to complete the full vaccination of all people who are eligible and willing to receive the shots by early November.

Nishimura also said that if the vaccination rate went up to 80 percent, it would have a considerable impact on COVID-19 infections.

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Malaysia

Malaysia reported another 19,198 new COVID-19 infections, as of midnight Sunday, bringing the national total to 1,979,698.

About five of the new cases are imported and 19,193 are local transmissions, data released on the ministry's website showed.

Another 292 more deaths have been reported, bringing the death toll to 20,711.

Mongolia

Mongolia's COVID-19 tally rose to 257,770 on Monday as 2,351 new local infections were registered over the past 24 hours, according to the country's health ministry.

Meanwhile, 10 more COVID-19 deaths were logged in the past day, taking the total death toll to 1,046.

The number of active cases across the country has risen to 63,207, including 286 in very serious conditions, according to the ministry.

The country's current COVID-19 resurgence is due to the Delta wave and mass gatherings, health authorities said, urging the public to avoid mass events and wear facial masks in public places.

So far, over 69 percent of the country's population has received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccines and 65 percent has taken both jabs.

Myanmar

Four million more doses of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Myanmar's Yangon on Sunday, according to a statement from the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar.

So far, China has supplied 12.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Myanmar, of which 3.9 million doses were donated by China, the statement said.

According to Myanmar's Ministry of Health on Sunday, over 3.23 million people have been fully vaccinated nationwide, while over 1.7 million people have received the first jab of COVID-19 vaccines as of Saturday.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Myanmar has increased to 431,833 on Sunday after 1,953 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours, the ministry said.

A total of 79 new deaths were reported, bringing the death toll to 16,530 in the country as of Sunday.

In this Aug 18, 2021 photo, people visit a COVID-19 testing station during a nationwide lockdown in Wellington. (MARTY MELVILLE / AFP)

New Zealand

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern extended a strict lockdown in the largest city Auckland as an outbreak of the delta variant of coronavirus proves difficult to vanquish.

Auckland will remain at Alert Level 4, the strictest setting,for at least another week while the rest of the country, which exited lockdown last week, will remain at Level 2, Ardern said. 

She is persisting with an elimination strategy that has served New Zealand well to date, but numbers have picked up in recent days, with 33 new cases were reported earlier Monday.

New Zealand reported an increase in new coronavirus cases on Monday, all in its largest city Auckland which is struggling to control the spread of the highly infectious Delta variant.

Health authorities recorded 33 new cases of the Delta variant of COVID-19 on Monday, higher than 23 and 20 cases reported over the weekend.

The latest cases were released ahead of an announcement by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at 0400 GMT on whether the social restrictions in place in Auckland would be eased or extended.

The new cases take the number of confirmed cases in the new outbreak to 955, most of which have been in Auckland.

New Zealand had been largely virus-free for months until an outbreak of the Delta variant imported from Australia prompted Ardern to order a snap nationwide lockdown on Aug 17.

The lockdown was lifted in the rest of the country last week but Auckland remains shut, with schools, offices and public venues shuttered and its 1.7 million people ordered to stay indoors.

COVID-19 experts in the country have said it was unlikely Ardern would ease the restrictions in Auckland.

Otago University epidemiologist Michael Baker told state broadcaster TVNZ that although the Auckland outbreak seems to have passed its peak, there are still risks.

“We’re at the end of this outbreak in Auckland, we just have to persist for a few more days,” Baker said.

Pakistan

Pakistan on Sunday confirmed 2,988 new COVID-19 cases and 67 more deaths, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) said on Monday.

The NCOC, the country's department leading the campaign against the pandemic, said that the country's number of overall confirmed cases had risen to 1,207,508, including 1,090,176 those who have recovered.

Philippines

The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 20,745 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 2,248,071.

The DOH also reported 163 coronavirus-related deaths, raising the death toll to 35,307.

The DOH has detected 640 additional Delta cases, raising the number of cases in the country to 2,708. There were 2,448 Alpha variant cases and 2,725 Beta cases detected in the country, it said.

The Philippines has administered over 38.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. More than 16.7 million people have been fully vaccinated so far, out of its 77-million target population.  

South Korea

South Korea reported 1,433 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Sunday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 274,415.

Twenty-four cases were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 13,969.

One more death was confirmed, leaving the death toll at 2,360. The total fatality rate stood at 0.86 percent.

Thailand

Thailand reported 12,583 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest one-day tally since July 20, according to government data on Monday. The Southeast Asian nation reported 132 deaths in the past 24 hours, the lowest daily fatalities since July 30. 

The lower tally comes as Thailand keeps strict containment measures in 29 provinces considered as virus hotspots at least until the end of September to prevent a spike in infections.

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Turkey

Turkey on Sunday confirmed 21,352 new COVID-19 cases, raising its tally of infections to 6,658,251, according to the health ministry.

The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 243 to 59,886, while 25,616 more people recovered in the last 24 hours.

A total of 310,546 tests were conducted over the past day, it said.

This July 9, 2021 photo, shows a general view of a deserted motorway in Ho Chi Minh City. (Huu Khoa / AFP)

Vietnam

Vietnam's coronavirus outbreak epicenter Ho Chi Minh City will extend its restrictions, state media reported on Monday, as the capital Hanoi and several provinces sought an easing of curbs and the aviation authority proposed domestic flights resume.

"Overall, Ho Chi Minh City will still be under restrictions for another two weeks," state-run Dan Tri newspaper quoted city vice-chairman Duong Anh Duc as saying.

"Although in some districts of the city where the virus is being kept at bay, restaurants are allowed to open for takeaways and people can go out for food."

Vietnam has recorded more than 610,000 infections and 15,000 deaths, the majority of those since May. Business hub Ho Chi Minh City accounts for half of those infections and 80 percent of fatalities.

Although more than 1 million vaccine shots have been administered daily of late, Vietnam vaccination rate of 5.2 percent of its 98 million population is one of the region's lowest.

Meanwhile, the civil aviation authority has proposed to the transport ministry a resumption of domestic flights in three phases, state-run Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper reported, after a months-long suspension.

In another development, Vietnam’s Phu Quoc Island will be the country’s first tourist destination reopened to fully-vaccinated foreign visitors beginning in November, according to the government website, which cited the tourism administration.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh approved the plan on a pilot basis, according to the government website. Foreign travelers will be required to have received their second vaccine shot at least 14 days before traveling to the island in the southern province of Kien Giang and no more than 12 months ahead of arrival.

International tourists must register negative for COVID-19 with a PCR test within 72 hours ahead of departing on the trip, it said.