Arriving passengers leave a terminal at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai on Dec 1, 2021. (PUNIT PARANJPE / AFP)

HANOI / SINGAPORE / MANILA / NEW DELHI / YANGON / KUALA LUMPUR / WELLINGTON / SEOUL - Amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in India, wearing face masks has been once again made mandatory throughout the journey by air, said an official source at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday.

Besides, adequate sensitization of the passengers about COVID-19 protocols has also been made compulsory for those undertaking domestic flights.

In case a passenger does not comply with the directions, strict action will be taken by airlines against the passenger, said the DGCA in its latest order.

"In view of the rise in COVID-19 cases, airlines have been advised to ensure that passengers are wearing face masks properly throughout the journey and ensure proper sensitization of the passengers through various platforms," said the DGCA official.

India's daily COVID-19 caseload on Thursday increased to 12,608, officials said.

According to federal health ministry data released on Thursday morning, 12,608 new cases of COVID-19 were reported during the past 24 hours, taking the total tally to 44,298,864 in the country.

The cases reported on Thursday mark an increase in comparison to the daily caseload of Wednesday, which stood at 9,062.

With the reporting of fresh cases, India's active caseload currently stands at 101,343.

The country also logged 72 related deaths during the past 24 hours, pushing the overall death toll to 527,206  since the beginning of the pandemic, the ministry said.

Malaysia

Malaysia reported 3,516 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Wednesday, bringing the national total to 4,744,929, according to the health ministry.

There were three new imported cases, with 3,513 cases being local transmissions, data released on the ministry's website showed.

Another 15 deaths were reported, pushing the death toll to 36,117.

This photo taken on Oct 17, 2021 shows healthcare workers preparing food for patients with the COVID-19 coronavirus at a health centre in Demoso township in Myanmar's Kayah state. (STR / AFP)

Myanmar

Myanmar logged 54 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 614,510, according to the Ministry of Health on Wednesday.

The health ministry said in a statement that these cases included 45 infected people who returned from abroad.

It added that health authorities tested 6,833 people for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, and the daily positivity rate was 0.79 percent.

The country reported one more death from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 19,437.

New Zealand

New Zealand recorded 4,540 new community cases of COVID-19 and 16 more deaths from the pandemic, the country's Ministry of Health said on Thursday.

New Zealand has reported 1,690,553 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1,807 deaths attributable to the disease since the pandemic hit the country in early 2020, the health ministry said.

Currently, 473 COVID-19 patients are being treated in hospitals in the country, including 10 in intensive care units or high dependency units, showed official data.

A health worker (right) walks past people queueing up for coronavirus swab tests outside a gymnasium in Manila on Jan 7, 2022. (STR / AFP)

Philippines

Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos said on Wednesday that he is mulling extending the nationwide state of public health emergency until the end of this year as the country continues to grapple with COVID-19.

Marcos said lifting the state of emergency might deprive his country of aid or supplies that global agencies such as the World Health Organization give to the international medical community.

"So, we will likely extend it until the end of this year," Marcos told reporters.

Former president Rodrigo Duterte declared a public health emergency in March 2020 following confirmation of local COVID-19 community transmission. Duterte had extended the emergency status until Sept. 12 this year.

The state of emergency calls for the public to support, cooperate and mobilize the necessary resources "to undertake critical, urgent, and appropriate response and measures in a timely manner to curtail and eliminate the COVID-19 threat."

On Wednesday, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 2,892 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,840,943.

The DOH said the number of active cases fell to 35,101, while 46 more patients died from COVID-19 complications, pushing the country's death toll to 61,173.

Metro Manila, the capital region with over 13 million people, tallied 845 new cases.

Marcos urged the public to get the booster shots, stressing its importance in opening up the economy and preventing crippling lockdowns.

The country's leader, who received his second booster shot on Wednesday at the launch of a renewed vaccination campaign, said getting the booster shots will help bring the country back to a normal situation.

A notice warning people not to gather in groups larger than five persons as part of restrictions to hald the spread of the coronavirus is displayed at Raffles Place financial business district in Singapore on Jan 4, 2022. (ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP)

Singapore

Singapore reported 3,762 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the country's total tally to 1,805,698.

Of the new cases, 382 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 3,380 through antigen rapid tests (ART), according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.

Among the PCR-confirmed cases, 352 were local transmissions and 30 were imported cases. Among the ART-confirmed cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 3,207 local transmissions and 173 imported cases, respectively.

A total of 479 cases are currently warded in hospitals, with 11 cases in intensive care units.

Two death was reported from COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total death toll to 1,567, the ministry said.

South Korea

South Korea reported 178,574 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight Wednesday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 21,861,296, the health authorities said Thursday.

The daily caseload was down from 180,803 in the previous day, but it was higher than 137,193 tallied a week earlier, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

For the past week, the daily average number of confirmed cases was 125,487.

Among the new cases, 633 were imported from overseas, lifting the total to 53,537.

Sixty-one more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 25,813. The total fatality rate was 0.12 percent.

A man passes walks past a billboard on the coronavirus in Ho Chi Minh City on Dec 4, 2021. (NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)

Vietnam

Vietnam recorded 2,814 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, down by 169 from Tuesday, according to its Ministry of Health.

All the new cases were locally transmitted, said the ministry.

The newly reported infections brought the total tally to 11,373,276. The country reported three new deaths from the pandemic in the northern Quang Ninh province, the capital Hanoi and the southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province on Wednesday, bringing the total fatalities to 43,103.

As of Wednesday, there were 226 severe cases in need of assisted breathing in the Southeast Asian country, according to the ministry.

Nearly 252.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country, including over 216.6 million shots on people aged 18 and above, said the ministry.