A man sits at a bar in Tokyo on late May 27, 2020, after the Japanese government lifted a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 coronavirus. (BEHROUZ MEHRI / AFP)

SEOUL / DUBAI / CAIRO / MANILA / TOKYO - Small clusters have emerged in several locations in Japan, including the capital, in its first week since a state of emergency was lifted nationwide. 

More than four people were found to be infected at a hospital in western Tokyo, Nippon Television reported. At least 18 others, mostly patients, are being tested after showing symptoms including fever.

In the southwestern city of Kitakyushu, an uptick in new cases -- 22 infections in five days, after more than three weeks without a single case -- prompted the government to send its virus cluster response team to investigate.

As of Thursday, Japan reported 16,651 COVID-19 infections with toll stood at 858. 

The Philippines

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday approved a recommendation to ease the lockdown in the capital Manila from June 1, resuming much-needed activity in an economy on the brink of recession.

Strict restrictions on commerce and movement since mid-March have ravaged the economy, which is facing its deepest contraction in 34 years.

The Philippines saw its biggest spike in coronavirus cases on Thursday with 539 new infections recorded. The fresh cases brought the nationwide tally to 15,588, of which 921 have led to deaths. The numbers are expected to rise further, the health ministry said, as it ramps up testing to meet its target of 30,000 daily COVID-19 tests.

South Korea

South Korea said Thursday that it will tighten quarantine measures in the metropolitan area for the next two weeks amid rising worry about COVID-19 cluster infection.

Museums, parks and galleries in Seoul and surrounding cities will be temporarily closed. 

South Korea reported 79 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, the largest one day increase since April 5.

The cases were as of midnight on Wednesday, and bring the country’s total to 11,344 cases and 269 deaths.

At least 68 of the new cases were domestic infections, and come as health authorities battle a growing outbreak linked to an e-commerce firm’s logistics facility.

South Korea’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low on Thursday in its second easing this year, in an effort to shore up the economy wrecked by the coronavirus pandemic.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan reported on Thursday that 580 new COVID-19 cases within the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 13,036, the country's Ministry of Public Health said.

Public health authorities registered eight COVID-related deaths across the country during the period, and the total fatalities stand at 235 since the outbreak of the pandemic in February.

Bangladesh

The Bangladeshi government on Thursday decided to allow offices and businesses to resume under strict guidelines from May 31, 2020.

Bangladeshi government issued a gazette notification in this regard on Thursday, saying the new order will remain in force until June 15.

All offices can be reopened on a limited scale from Sunday to June 15 but everyone will still need to follow the health guidelines, said the gazette notification.

Maintaining the guidelines, it said public transport services can also be operated with limited passengers from Sunday.

But the gazette notification said all the educational institutions will remain closed until June 15.

The Bangladeshi government declared a general holiday from March 26 and later extended the shutdown in phases till May 30 to quell the spread of the COVID-19 which still continued unabated with 2,029 new cases found on Thursday. 

India

India's federal health ministry Thursday morning said 194 new deaths due to COVID-19, besides fresh 6,566 positive cases were reported since Wednesday in the country, taking the number of deaths to 4,531 and total cases to 158,333.

A man wearing a face shield rides a bicycle in Manila, the Philippines, on May 20, 2020. (TED ALJIBE / AFP)

Indonesia

Hospitals in Indonesia’s second largest city of Surabaya have been overwhelmed by a surge of new coronavirus cases, forcing them to turn patients away, the Indonesian Medical Association said on Thursday.

At least two city hospitals designated to treat the disease in East Java province have been inundated with patients amid fears the virus could spread rapidly beyond its epicentre in the capital Jakarta to elsewhere in the country of 270 million.

Since May 1, the number of cases in the province has risen more than 300 percent to stand at 4,313 by Thursday, while the rise in Jakarta has been just over 60 percent, to 7,001.

Most of the East Java cases centre on Surabaya, a city of almost 3 million, with health experts blaming the surge on poor adherence to social restrictions and virus clusters at an Islamic boarding school and a Philip Morris-run tobacco factory, among others.

The world’s fourth-most populous nation is one of the worst hit by the virus in Southeast Asia. The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 687 within one day to 24,538, with the death toll adding by 23 to 1,496, Achmad Yurianto, a health ministry official, said at a press conference.

According to him, 183 more people had been discharged from hospitals, making the total number of recovered patients stand at 6,240 amid the pandemic that has spread to all the 34 provinces in the country.

Iran

Iran on Thursday registered 2,258 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 143,849 since its outbreak in late February, according to an update by the health ministry.

Meanwhile, 63 new death cases were reported over the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 7,627.

Iraq

Iraqi Health Ministry on Wednesday said that a total of 5,135 COVID-19 cases were confirmed since the outbreak of the disease in the country, of whom up to 175 have died.

A statement by the ministry said that 287 new cases were recorded nationwide during the past 24 hours and 257 of them were in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

Six of the infected people died during the day in Baghdad's hospitals, bringing the death toll in the country to 175, while 2,904 have recovered so far, the statement read.

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Israel

The number of active coronavirus cases in Israel has dropped below 2,000 for the first time since March 24, the state's Ministry of Health said Wednesday.

The total number of coronavirus cases in Israel increased to 16,793, with 36 new cases.

The number of death cases remained 281, while the number of patients in serious condition increased from 37 to 41.

Earlier on Wednesday, hotels, swimming pools and restaurants across Israel were reopened.

Kuwait

Kuwait on Thursday reported 845 new cases of COVID-19 and 10 more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 24,112 and the death toll to 185, the health ministry said in a statement.

Currently, 15,229 patients are receiving treatment, including 197 in ICU, according to the statement.

The ministry also announced the recovery of 752 more patients, raising the total recoveries in the country to 8,698.

Kyrgyzstan 

Kyrgyzstan on Thursday reported 74 new COVID-19 cases, raising its total number of infections to 1,594.

The country's Deputy Health Minister Nurbolot Usenbaev said at his daily online news briefing that among the newly infected, 27 are medical workers, raising the total number of infected medical workers to 326, including 247 recoveries.

Lebanon

Lebanon's number of COVID-19 infections increased by 21 cases to 1,161 while the death toll remained at 26.

Malaysia

Malaysian health authorities reported on Thursday 10 new coronavirus cases, raising the cumulative total to 7,629 cases.

The health ministry reported no new deaths, keeping the total number of fatalities at 115.

Mongolia

Mongolia's National Center for Communicable Disease on Thursday reported 13 new cases of COVID-19, taking the nationwide tally to 161.

The new patients are Mongolian nationals who have returned home from Russia amid the pandemic, the center's head Dulmaa Nyamkhuu said at a daily press conference.

A general view shows the warehouse of South Korean online delivery service Coupang, in Bucheon, south of Seoul, on May 27, 2020. South Korea reported its biggest jump in coronavirus infections in seven weeks on May 27, driven by a fresh cluster at an e-commerce warehouse on Seoul's outskirts, as millions more pupils went back to school. (PHOTO / AFP)

New Zealand

New Zealand national museum "Te Papa" re-opened on Thursday after closing for more than two months to protect the public from the risk of COVID-19.

"Te Papa is an icon of Aotearoa (New Zealand), and belongs to all New Zealanders. We are proud to open our doors and welcome New Zealand back to our place," said Te Papa Board Chair Fran Wilde in a statement.

New Zealand’s employment fell by a record 37,500 in April, due to the impact of COVID-19 and the restrictions placed on social and economic activity, the statistics agency said on Thursday.

New Zealand reported no new case of COVID-19 on Thursday for six consecutive days, with the combined total of confirmed and probable cases staying at 1,504, according to the Ministry of Health.

Oman

The Omani Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday 255 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 8,373.

According to a statement issued by the ministry, all new cases, including 166 Omanis, are related to community contact.

The statement also said 110 patients of COVID-19 have recovered, bringing the total recoveries to 2,177. One new death was reported, bringing the death toll to 38. 

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Palestine

Palestine on Wednesday said that eight new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, bringing the total number of cases in the Palestinian territories to 613.

Palestinian Minister of Health Mai al-Kaila said that three cases were registered in the Gaza Strip and five others were detected in the southern West Bank district of Hebron, including two children.

Qatar

Qatar's health ministry on Wednesday announced 1,740 new infections of the novel coronavirus, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 48,947.

Saudi Arabia

The number of coronavirus cases in the six Gulf Arab states doubled in less than a month to surpass 200,000 on Wednesday, according to a Reuters’ tally, at a time the region’s two biggest economies move to resume activity.

Saudi Arabia, the worst-hit among the region, announced on Wednesday the registration of 1,815 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections to 78,541 in the kingdom.

The Saudi health ministry also reported 14 more deaths from the virus in the last 24 hours, raising the death toll to 425.

Saudi Arabia has announced the extending of tourist visas automatically for three months free of charge for those stranded in the kingdom whose visas expired during the period of suspension of international flights.
A man and a woman walk at the Dubai Mall after the Emirati authorities eased some of the restrictions that were put in place in a bid to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, in the Gult city of Dubai, on May 27, 2020. (GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP)

Syria

The United Nations remains concerned over the impact of COVID-19 on people across Syria as new cases are being reported in the war-torn country, said a UN spokesman on Wednesday.

Since May 22, the Syrian Health Ministry has reported 63 new cases -- all from repatriated Syrian nationals. This brings the total number of reported cases to 121, including four fatalities, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Thailand

Thailand on Thursday reported 11 new coronavirus cases and no new deaths, bringing its total to 3,065 confirmed cases and 57 fatalities since the outbreak started in January.

The cases were Thai nationals in quarantine who recently returned from overseas, including four from Kuwait, six from Qatar, and one from India, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the government’s coronavirus task force.

Turkey

Turkey begun operating intercity trains on Thursday after a two-month gap, as it gradually eases coronavirus curbs in a bid to restore normal life and reopen an economy facing the threat of recession.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said citizens had not fully abided by social distancing steps after the lifting of the order, and urged them to follow precautions against a second wave of infections.

Turkey's confirmed cases of the COVID-19 increased by 1,035 in a single day, bringing the total cases in the country to 159,797, Koca said on Wednesday. More than 4,300 people have died from the disease. 

UAE

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday announced 563 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 32,532.

The Ministry of Health and Prevention said in a statement that the new cases of many nationalities are all in stable condition and receiving medical treatment.

Meanwhile, 314 more patients have fully recovered from the virus, taking the UAE's recoveries to 16,685, according to the ministry.

The ministry also confirmed three more deaths, pushing up the country's death toll to 258.

Yemen

Yemen's health ministry on Wednesday recorded seven new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections to 256 in the country's provinces controlled by the government.

According to a brief statement released by the country's supreme national emergency committee, four patients died from the coronavirus during the day, bringing the death toll in the government-controlled areas of the war-ravaged Arab country to 53.