In this photo provided by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea government, a worker in protective gear stands on an empty sidewalk in Pyongyang, the DPRK, on May 17, 2022. (KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY / KOREA NEWS SERVICE VIA AP)

SEOUL / HANOI / MANILA / SINGAPORE / KUALA LUMPUR / WELLINGTON / NEW DELHI / ISLAMABAD - The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea reported no new fever cases on Saturday for the first time since its COVID-19 outbreak in mid-May, state media reported.

The DPRK said earlier this month it was on a path to "finally defuse" its first coronavirus outbreak even as Asian neighbors experience a resurgence in infections driven by Omicron subvariants.

The official KCNA news agency said 99.99 percent of its 4.77 million fever patients since late April have fully recovered.

KCNA said a rapid mobile treatment force was still on high alert and efforts were under way to "detect and stamp out the epidemic" until the last patient is fully recovered. The state media said 204 fever patients were under treatment as of Friday.

The latest report on the death toll among fever patients stood at 74 as of July 5.

India

India's daily COVID-19 caseload Saturday remained above the 20,000-mark for the third straight day, officials said.

According to federal health ministry data released on Saturday morning, 20,408 new cases of COVID-19 were reported during the past 24 hours, taking the total tally to 44,000,138 in the country.

The number of cases reported on Saturday was almost similar to the daily caseload of Friday, which was 20,409.

With the reporting of fresh cases, India's active caseload currently stands at 143,384.

The country also logged 54 related deaths during the past 24 hours, pushing the overall death toll to 526,312 since the beginning of the pandemic, the ministry said.

With the increase in cases, the daily positivity rate stands at 5.05 percent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 4.92 percent, the ministry data showed.

Malaysia

Malaysia reported 4,860 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Friday, bringing the national total to 4,672,999 , according to the health ministry.

There are 11 new imported cases and 4,849 local transmissions, data released on the ministry's website showed.

Another 10 deaths have been reported, pushing the death toll to 35,956.

New Zealand

New Zealand reported 6,232 new community cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers of COVID-19 in New Zealand now sits at 7,405. The ministry also reported 769 current hospitalizations, including 18 cases in intensive care units or high dependency units.

In addition, there were 243 new cases that have recently traveled overseas, according to the ministry.

New Zealand has reported 1,599,202 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. There are now a total of 1,479 deaths in the country confirmed as attributable to COVID-19, either as the underlying cause of death or as a contributing factor, said the ministry.

Pakistan

Pakistan reported 605 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the tally of the infected to 1,553,930, the country's ministry of health said on Saturday.

A total of 30,486 people died of COVID-19 in Pakistan, with three deaths over the last 24 hours, according to the ministry's statistics.

A child receives the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 as a performer dressed as superhero character Spider-Man looks on at a gym in San Juan City, suburban Manila on Feb 7, 2022. (TED ALJIBE / AFP)

Philippines

The Philippines reported 4,127 new COVID-19 infections on Friday, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,768,474.

Friday's number of new cases is the highest daily tally since Feb 10. The Department of Health (DOH) said the number of active cases jumped to 32,637. It also added that an additional 14 people died from COVID-19 complications, pushing the country's death toll to 60,718.

The Philippines reported its highest single-day tally of 39,004 new cases on Jan 15. The country, with a population of around 110 million, has fully vaccinated over 71.4 million people.

Singapore Airlines stewardesses walk past a giant lollipop candy display at Changi International Airport in Singapore on April 1, 2022, as Singapore reopened its land and air borders to travelers fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. (ROSLOAN RAHMAN / AFP)

Singapore

Singapore reported 7,938 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total tally to 1,702,392.

Of the new cases, 797 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 7,141 through ART (antigen rapid test) tests, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.

Among the PCR cases, 763 were local transmissions and 34 were imported cases. Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 6,866 local transmissions and 275 imported cases, respectively.

Two death was reported from COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total death toll to 1,494, the ministry said. 

Passengers wait for transportation outside the arrival hall of Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on March 15, 2022, as Vietnam announced the return of a visa exemption policy for 13 countries in an effort to kickstart its tourism sector. (NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)

Vietnam

Vietnam recorded 1,805 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, up by 106 from Thursday, according to its Ministry of Health.

The newly reported infections brought the total tally to 10,776,484. The country reported a new death from the pandemic in the northern Quang Ninh province on Friday, bringing the total fatalities to 43,093.

As of Friday, there were 45 severe cases in need of assisted breathing in the Southeast Asian country, according to the ministry.