In this file photo dated Feb 16, 2022, officials walk near a banner for the G20 finance ministers and central governors meeting during preparations in Jakarta. (MAST IRHAM / POOL / AFP)

HANOI / JAKARTA / KUALA LUMPUR / SINGAPORE / TOKYO - Indonesia is beefing up COVID-19 pandemic control and tightening security against terrorists on the island of Bali in preparation for the Group of 20 summit slated for November.

The number of newly-confirmed COVID-19 infections keeps rising in the Southeast Asian country, largely due to the emergence of the more transmissible Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5.

On Friday, health authorities confirmed 2,804 new cases across the country with 12 related deaths in Indonesia

On Friday, health authorities confirmed 2,804 new cases across the country with 12 related deaths. Bali reported 36 new cases.

The country's health ministry has been improving its COVID-19 contact tracing application PeduliLindungi, which is generally used to gain access to public sites, such as airports, hospitals and supermarkets.

Deputy Health Minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono has told media that the ministry was in the process of adding 14 foreign languages to the app to meet the needs of delegates participating in the upcoming international event. All delegates, he said, have to be fully vaccinated and registered on PeduliLindungi prior to their departures.

"Delegates are expected to have their health insurances or travel insurances that guarantee healthcare in hospitals, including COVID-19 treatment," Harbuwono said.

He also said that the ministry had arranged COVID-19 preventative measures and will provide access for delegates to health services. At the airport in Bali, authorities will check the delegates' COVID-19 vaccine verification and conduct screening for the virus. Those with body temperatures of over 37.5 degrees centigrade will have to perform a polymerase chain reaction test. Delegates who pass the screening will be given rapid antigen tests.

In the area of the conference, makeshift ICUs, clinics and mobile response teams will be made available with doctors, nurses and ambulances standing by.

Meanwhile, Indonesia has been continuing to accelerate its national vaccination program, as more than 200 million people across the country have received their first dose of vaccines, while over 170 million have taken the second dose.

A man (right) receives a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine against the COVID-19 coronavirus at the Tokyo Medical Center in Tokyo on Dec 1, 2021. (STR / JIJI PRESS / JAPAN POOL / AFP)

Japan

Japan reported a total of 20,000,343 COVID-19 cases as of Friday, more than doubled in less than two months from that logged on July 14, statistics showed.

Japan registered 99,491 new COVID-19 cases on Friday. A total of 211 people were reported dead, bringing the total death toll to 42,363 

The country registered 99,491 new COVID-19 cases on Friday. A total of 211 people were reported dead, bringing the total death toll to 42,363, according to data from the country's public broadcaster NHK.

The rapid rise in the number of deaths has made it difficult to cremate the dead in some parts of Japan, local media has reported.

In Japan, the number of new infections in the latest week was 69 percent higher than the previous week, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said in a report Wednesday.

Most of the country's new coronavirus deaths in July and August were among people over 70 years old. People aged 70 and above accounted for about 91 percent of COVID-19 deaths between June 29 and Aug 30, Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported, citing data from the ministry.

The World Health Organization said that in the week from Aug 29 to Sept 4, the number of new COVID-19 cases in Japan surpassed 1,160,000, the highest number in the world for the seventh consecutive week. During the same period, Japan's death toll from the coronavirus reached 2,059, ranking second in the world after the United States.

Malaysia

Malaysia reported 1,990 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Friday, bringing the national total to 4,801,653, according to the health ministry.

There are two new imported cases, with 1,988 cases being local transmissions, data released on the ministry's website showed.

Another four deaths have been reported, pushing the death toll to 36,274.

The ministry reported 2,016 new recoveries, bringing the total number of cured and discharged to 4,738,009.

There are 27,370 active cases, with 67 being held in intensive care and 46 of those in need of assisted breathing.

The country reported 3,870 vaccine doses administered on Friday alone. 

Singapore

Singapore reported 2,218 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total tally to 1,856,673.

Of the new cases, 234 cases were detected through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests and 1,984 through ART (antigen rapid test) tests, according to statistics released by the ministry of health.

Among the PCR cases, 205 were local transmissions and 29 were imported cases. Among the ART cases with mild symptoms and assessed to be of low risk, there were 1,777 local transmissions and 207 imported cases.

A total of 239 cases are currently warded in hospitals, with nine cases in intensive care units.

One death was reported from COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total death toll to 1,602, the ministry said.

READ MORE: Singapore: 60% of residents likely infected with COVID-19

Vietnam

Vietnam recorded 3,649 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, up 458 from Thursday, according to the Ministry of Health.

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

The newly reported infections brought the total tally to 11,435,472. The country reported no new deaths from the pandemic on Friday, with the total fatalities staying at 43,126.

As of Friday, there were 138 severe cases in need of assisted breathing in the Southeast Asian country, according to the ministry.

More than 258.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country, including over 219.6 million shots on people aged 18 and above, said the ministry.

Vietnam has already recorded COVID-19 infections with Omicron BA.4, BA.5, BA.2.12.1 and BA.2.74 sub-variants and is accelerating the inoculation of its people with a fourth vaccine dose.