Australian officials pleaded Friday with Sydney's 5 million people to stay home, warning they could extend a three-week lockdown as they struggle to contain a Covid-19 outbreak.
"New South Wales is facing the biggest challenge we've faced since the pandemic started," state Premier Gladys Berejiklian told Reuters in Sydney, Reuters said.
In Sydney's southwestern suburbs, streets were deserted Friday, with groups of police patrolling the streets.
In Singapore, the government has shipped out medical supplies and equipment to Indonesia Friday in the face of a surge in Covid-19 infections, health officials said.
"Singapore stands in solidarity with Indonesia against the surge of Covid-19," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Singapore reported Thursday a new daily record of 38,391 cases and 852 more deaths from the virus, official data showed.
In Vietnam, the local tally of the country's ongoing wave increased by 423 Friday morning to 21,289, with Ho Chi Minh City recording the most.
Vietnam's southern metropolis tallied 350 new patients. Of them, 307 were detected in isolated areas and quarantined zones, VNExpress said.
The country's remaining cases confirmed Friday morning are in nine other localities, the report said.
Over in Indonesia, officials are considering offering a booster shot to their frontline medical personnel who have been inoculated with Sinovac's vaccine.
Indonesia has immunized millions of its healthcare workers with the Sinovac vaccine and thousands of them are now testing positive for the virus, Reuters said.
In the Philippines, the country received a delivery of more than 1 million AstraZeneca doses donated by Japan on Thursday, as supplies run low in the Philippines where infections continue to soar.
"Japan continues to be our strong partner in fighting the pandemic," Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said in quotes by Rappler.
In India, GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi have received an authorization from Indian health officials for a late-stage clinical trial of their vaccine candidate.
The Indian arm of the trials will enroll almost 3,000 adults between 18 and 55 years, officials said.
India reported almost 46,000 new infections Thursday. Authorities have warned that actual figures could be higher than those reported.
Meanwhile, in South Korea, officials will for the first time tighten restrictions to the highest level possible in Seoul and neighboring regions, as alarm spreads with new infections setting a second consecutive daily record nationwide.
South Korea reported 1,316 new cases as of midnight Thursday, up from the previous day's record of 1,275.
Worldwide, there are currently 185 million Covid-19 cases, with 4 million deaths.
