Australian officials said Monday Victoria state will extend a Covid-19 lockdown beyond Tuesday despite a slight decrease in new cases as the country's two largest cities fight to contain the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.
Almost half of Australia's 25 million people have been confined to their homes with Sydney, the country's biggest city, in a five-week lockdown.
In Japan, six British athletes and two staff members are self-isolating after coming into close contact with a person who tested positive for the virus on their flight to the country, the British Olympic Association said.
All eight tested negative at the airport and are now under the supervision of the British delegation's medical team, CNN said.
In Indonesia, health officials reported more daily cases than India and Brazil as the Delta strain sweeps across south-east Asia.
"The center of the pandemic in Asia is already in Indonesia right now, but if we have more testing capacity we are already the epicenter of the world," Dr. Dicky Budiman, an Indonesian epidemiologist at Australia's Griffith University, said in quotes by The Guardian.
Indonesia reported 51,952 infections and 1,092 deaths Sunday, higher than India and Brazil for a third day running. More than 72,400 people have died, official records show.
Over in Vietnam, the Health Ministry announced 2,013 new local patients Monday morning, with most recorded in the capital of Ho Chi Minh City.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Vietnam has recorded 55,788 infections. Of them, 10,662 have recovered and 254 have died, VNExpress said.
Over in Taiwan, authorities approved Monday the emergency use of Medigen Vaccine Biologics' vaccine candidate, a major step in the island state's plans to develop its own vaccines to protect against the disease.
The vaccine candidate has yet to complete clinical trials and no efficacy data is available, officials said.
In China, officials reported 30 new infections Sunday, compared with 33 a day earlier. Of the new infections, 26 originated overseas and five were local cases, all in the southwestern border province of Yunnan.
Another 17 asymptomatic infections were found on the mainland Sunday, compared with 27 a day earlier.
In South Korea, infections have surged to record levels, resulting in tighter curbs that are pressuring small and mid-sized businesses already struggling from previous outbreaks.
South Korean officials reported 1,252 infections Sunday, the highest daily tally for a Sunday since the pandemic started.
In Thailand, authorities reported 11,784 new infections Monday, the fourth straight day of record cases, as the country struggles to contain its worst outbreak to date.
Thailand's pandemic task force also announced 81 new deaths, bringing total fatalities to 3,421 and with 415,169 infections registered.
In the Philippines, the government said the country could face a resurgence in infections once the Delta variant spreads in the country's busiest metropolitan area.
"If the vaccination program gathers momentum, the daily cases could not be as grim," OCTA Research fellow Guido David said in quotes by CNN Philippines.
Worldwide, there are currently 190 million cases of Covid-19. Some 4.09 million have died from the virus.
