High school teacher checks the temperature of a student on the first day after being reopened following restrictions to halt the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Kuala Lumpur on June 24, 2020. (MOHD RASFAN / AFP)

SYDNEY / DUBAI / CAIRO / KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia is considering making face masks compulsory in public following the emergence of 13 new coronavirus clusters since the government relaxed broad curbs on movement and businesses last month, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Monday.

Malaysian health authorities recorded 21 new coronavirus cases on Monday, lifting the total since the outbreak began to 8,800 cases and 123 deaths.

Monday’s was the second straight daily double-digit rise in infections, after Malaysia managed to broadly hold daily growth to single digits since the lockdown was eased on June 10. The number of positive cases climbed by 15 on Sunday, and by 18 two days prior.

Australia

A surge in COVID-19 cases in Australia’s second-biggest city could take weeks to subside despite a lockdown and orders to wear masks, Australia’s acting chief medical officer said on Monday as the country braces for a second wave of infection.

The respiratory disease caused by the novel coronairus flared up in Victoria state in July, mainly in Melbourne, as it reported another 275 cases of COVID-19 Monday and warned that it’s too early to say whether a lockdown across the city of Melbourne is helping to slow the spread of the virus.

State Premier Daniel Andrews said a woman in her eighties had died from the virus, bringing the state’s death toll to 39. 

Victoria’s government has ordered about five million people into a partial lockdown for six weeks and told residents around Melbourne to cover their faces if they have to leave their homes.

Australia’s Acting Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said it would take “weeks” to slow the outbreak to levels seen as recently as June, when Victoria and the rest of Australia reported single or double-digit daily infections.

NSW reported 18 new infections on Sunday, its highest in three months. The transmission rate in the state is higher than in Victoria, despite social distancing restrictions being tightened.

READ MORE: Mask-wearing made mandatory in Melbourne amid virus surge

Bangladesh

Bangladesh has approved the third-phase trial of a potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd, officials said on Monday, as infections continue to rise in the densely-populated South Asian country.

Sinovac has been looking for volunteers outside of China as the number of coronavirus cases there has dwindled, said a member of Bangladesh’s national technical advisory committee to tackle COVID-19.

Bangladesh reported nearly 3,000 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, taking the total to reach over 207,000, with 2,668 deaths.

A total of 2,928 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally to 207,453, Senior Health Ministry official Nasima Sultana said in a briefing on Monday afternoon.

Fiji

Fiji reported on Monday one more COVID-19 cases, bringing the current number of active COVID-19 cases to nine in the island nation since July 6 this year.

Fiji's Acting Permanent Secretary for the Health Ministry James Fong said on Monday that the new case is a 50-year old woman, who is the wife of one of the earlier announced border quarantine cases from the same repatriation flight carrying 107 passengers from India on July 1 this year.

A woman queues outside a COVID-19 coronavirus testing venue at The Royal Melbourne Hospital in Melbourne on July 16, 2020. (WILLIAM WEST / AFP)

India 

India's federal health ministry Monday morning said 681 new deaths due to COVID-19, besides fresh 40,425 positive cases, were reported during the past 24 hours across the country, taking the number of deaths to 27,497 and total cases to 1,118,043.

This is the highest single day spike in terms of new COVID-19 cases in the country so far.

Indoneisa

The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 1,693 within one day to 88,214, with the death toll adding by 96 to 4,239, Achmad Yurianto, a health ministry official, said at a press conference on Monday.

According to him, 1,576 more people were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 46,977.

Iran

Iran's confirmed novel coronavirus cases rose to 276,202 on Monday after an overnight registration of 2,414 new infections, state TV reported.

At her daily briefing, Sima Sadat Lari, the spokeswoman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said out of the new cases in the past 24 hours, 1,641 have been hospitalized.

The pandemic has so far claimed the lives of 14,405 Iranians, up by 217 in the past 24 hours, she said.

The country has decided to extend a ban on inbound group tours as Iran is grappling with the new rise of the novel coronavirus cases.

Iraq

In Iraq, the tally of coronavirus infections rose to 92,530 after 2,310 new cases were reported.

The country also reported 90 more deaths and 2,036 recovered cases, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 3,781 and the total recoveries to 60,528.

Iraqi Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi vowed to apply strict measures against the violators of the health restrictions after the health authorities decided earlier to ease some restrictions.

Israel

Israel's coronavirus cases on Sunday rose to 50,289, while the death toll increased to 409 and the recoveries to 21,675.

Japan

Japan's nationwide death toll from COVID-19 hits 1,000, according to the latest figures from the health ministry and local authorities on Monday, with the figure including cases from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama near Tokyo. 

Tokyo confirmed 168 new cases of coronavirus, Governor Yuriko Koike said. The number of cases dropped below 200 for the second day in a row, after three consecutive days above that level.

Kuwait

Kuwait on Monday reported 559 new COVID-19 cases, raising the tally of infections to 59,763, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

Currently, 9,016 patients are receiving treatment, including 138 in ICU, the statement added.

No new deaths were reported, leaving the total deaths at 408, it noted.

The ministry also announced the recovery of 652 more patients, raising the total recoveries in the country to 50,339.

Kyrgyzstan 

Kyrgyzstan on Monday reported 611 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total number of infections in the country to 27,143.

Deputy Health Minister Mademin Karataev announced at an online briefing that 781 more patients had recovered over the past day, bringing the total number of recoveries in the country to 13,109.

Also in the past 24 hours, 34 more patients have died of the disease, taking the total death toll to 1,037.

Lebanon

In Lebanon, the number of COVID-19 infections increased by 84 to 2,859, while the death toll remained at 40.

New Zealand

New Zealand reported one new case of COVID-19 on Monday in managed isolation facilities, bringing the number of active cases in the country to 26, according to the Ministry of Health.

It has now been 80 days since the last case of COVID-19 was acquired locally from an unknown source, said in a ministry statement.

Monday's case was a man in his 40s who arrived in the country last Wednesday from Mexico, flying via Los Angeles, it said.

Oman

Oman's Ministry of Health announced 1,157 new cases of infections, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country to 66,661, including 318 deaths and 44,004 recoveries.

ALSO READ: Australia PM delays parliament as coronavirus spreads

Palestine

Palestine reported 465 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally of infections in the Palestinian territories to 10,052, including 2,095 recoveries and 65 deaths.

Pakistan

Wearing face masks and gloves, Pakistani vaccinators on Monday resumed an anti-polio drive that had been halted since March due to the coronavirus outbreak, seeking to reach at least 800,000 children in five days.

The disruption of the drive has raised fears of a spike in polio cases in Pakistan, which, along with neighbouring Afghanistan is just one of two countries in the world where the disease remains endemic, officials said.

Pakistan has thus far registered 265,082 cases of novel coronavirus infection and 5,599 deaths.

Qatar

Qatar's Health Ministry on Monday announced 389 new infections of COVID-19, increasing the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 107,037.

A total of 405 people recovered, bringing the total recoveries to 103,782, while two others died, raising the fatalities to 159, the official Qatar News Agency quoted a statement by the ministry as saying.

A total of 446,036 people in Qatar have undergone lab tests for COVID-19 so far, it added.

A picture taken June 23, 2020 shows pilgrims housing tents located between the holy sites of Arafat and Mina in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca. (PHOTO / AFP)

Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Interior Ministry announced on Sunday the kingdom's readiness for the upcoming Hajj season, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

Zayed Al Tuwailan, commander of Hajj Security Forces, told a press conference that the forces are ready to ensure the safety of pilgrims, SPA said.

He revealed that pilgrims of 160 nationalities, 70 of whom are foreign residents in the kingdom, would take part in this year's Hajj season.

Saudi Arabia announced 2,504 new cases and 39 more deaths, raising the tally of confirmed cases to 250,920 and the death toll to 2,486.

The kingdom also reported 3,517 more recovered patients, taking the total recoveries to 197,735.

South Korea

Ten more US soldiers and their family members tested positive for COVID-19 amid rising concerns here about imported cases, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said Monday.

 The USFK said in a statement that six USFK service members and four dependents were confirmed with the virus after arriving in South Korea between July 12 and 15.

South Korea reported 26 more cases of the COVID-19 as of 0:00 a.m. Monday local time compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 13,771.

The daily caseload fell below 30 in 25 days, but it continued to increase in double digits due to imported cases.

Of the new cases, 22 were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 2,067. It continued to increase in double digits for 25 days in a row.

Thailand

A meeting led by Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha on Monday will discuss the possible extension of emergency rules beyond the end of the month, as well as the next stage of easing, said Somsak Rungsita, secretary-general of the National Security Council. If the state of emergency is extended, it would be the fourth time since rules were imposed in March.

The Philippines

The number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines surged to 68,898 after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 1,521 new cases on Monday.

The DOH said that the number of recoveries further rose to 23,072 after 607 more patients have survived the disease, and the death toll also increased to 1,835 after four more deaths.

Metro Manila continued to record the highest number of infections, with 1,237 new cases reported on Monday.

Turkey

Turkey has suspended flights to Iran and Afghanistan as part of measures against the coronavirus outbreak, the Transport Ministry said on Sunday.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Turkey climbed to 219,641 after 924 new infections were reported, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted.

The death toll from the coronavirus in the country rose to 5,491 after 16 new fatalities were added in the past 24 hours, Koca said, adding 997 more patients recovered, raising the total recoveries to 202,010.

UAE

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced 211 new COVID-19 cases and one more death, raising the tally of infections to  56,922 and the death toll to 339.

The total number of recoveries from the virus in the UAE increased to 49,269 after 352 more fully recovered.

Yemen

The total number of coronavirus cases in Yemen's government-controlled provinces increased to 1,606 after 25 new cases were added.

The number of recoveries in the government-controlled areas, including the southern port city of Aden, increased to 712 and the death toll climbed to 445.

Vietnam 

Vietnam reported a new case of COVID-19 infection on Monday, bringing its total confirmed cases to 384 with zero deaths so far, according to its Ministry of Health.

The latest case was a 27-year-old Russian man recently entering Vietnam, said the ministry, noting that he was quarantined upon arrival.

Meanwhile, three more patients were given all-clear on Monday, raising the total cured cases in Vietnam to 360.

Syria

New COVID-19 cases have been recorded in government-controlled areas and opposition areas, state news agency SANA and activists reported on Monday.

Some 26 new cases were reported in government-controlled areas in addition to four new deaths and 10 recoveries.

With the update, a total of 522 cases have been reported in government-controlled areas, including 154 recoveries and 29 deaths.

Also, 18 cases have so far been reported in rebel-held areas in Idlib Province and the countryside of Aleppo in northern Syria, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan's Public Health Ministry has registered 40 new COVID-19 positive cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the number of infections to 35,503 in the country, said a statement of ministry on Monday.

According to the statement, two patients died over the period, bringing the number of COVID-19 related deaths to 1,183 since the outbreak of the virus in February.

A total of 113 COVID-19 affected patients have recovered over the past 24 hours, bringing the number of recoveries to 23,663 in the country.