People wearing face masks walk through a park in Seoul on Sept 27, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

BAGHDAD / KATHMANDU / WELLINGTON / BEIRUT -  South Korea will relax some rules on social distancing from Monday, allowing nightspots to re-open and spectators to attend sports events, after new coronavirus cases edged lower in recent weeks, authorities said.

Daily infections have fallen largely into the double-digit range in the past two weeks, down from 440 during outbreaks at a church and a political rally in August that prompted clampdowns on gatherings and some businesses.

“We will lower the level of social distancing nationwide but maintain controls on risk factors such as the door-to-door sales industry,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun told a meeting on Sunday.

“Many citizens are feeling fatigue over prolonged distancing, and we also took its negative impact on the economy into consideration.”

The relaxation means places of entertainment, such as nightclubs, karaoke bars and buffets can re-open, and audiences of up to 30% of stadium capacity will be allowed at sports matches such as the popular Korea Baseball Organization League, as long as they comply with anti-virus guidelines.

But high-risk activities such as door-to-door sales businesses and small religious gatherings remain banned, with new limits on guests and spacing at nightspots and indoor sport venues in the heavily populated Seoul area, the government said.

Health Minister Park Neung-hoo warned against complacency, saying the country still faced the dangers of what he called a “twindemic” of the virus and a winter seasonal flu.

India

India's COVID-19 tally surpassed 7 million on Sunday, reaching 7,053,806, as the death toll reached 108,334, announced the federal health ministry.

As many as 74,383 new COVID-19 cases and 918 deaths were registered across the country during the past 24 hours.

The last one million COVID-19 cases were added to the tally in the past 13 days (Sept 28-Oct 10).

Still there are 867,496 active COVID-19 cases across the country, while 6,077,976 people were successfully cured and discharged from hospitals.

For over two months India's focus has been on ramping up the COVID-19 testing facilities. According to the latest data from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), as many as 86,877,242 tests were conducted till Saturday, out of which 1,078,544 tests were conducted on Saturday alone.

Iraq

The Iraqi Health Ministry on Saturday said that the total nationwide COVID-19 infections reached 400,124, after the registration of 2,344 new cases, which are lower than the average daily infections.

The lower daily cases of infection came as a result of using fewer test kits, as the ministry reported 13,863 test kits during the day, and a total of 2,470,645 tests have been conducted since the outbreak, according to the statement.

The ministry used to conduct an average of more than 20,000 testing kits per day, but observers believe that the decrease in the number of testing kits was due to the major Shiite religious ritual of Arbaeen that made many health workers travel to the holy city of Karbala, some 110 km south of Baghdad.

The ministry also reported 55 deaths during the day, raising the death toll to 9,790, while 4,233 more patients recovered in the day, bringing the total number of recoveries to 332,330.

Meanwhile, the ministry's spokesman Sayf al-Badr said in a press release that the possibility of increasing COVID-19 infections in the coming days is high due to the increase in the number of seasonal influenza infections during the winter.

The recent increase of COVID-19 infections in the country also prompted Deputy Health Minister Hazim al-Jumaili to announce late on Friday that the Ministry of Health will discuss a return to the curfew measure in the Higher Committee for Health of National Safety, which is headed by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

"The coronavirus infection is increasing worldwide, and this represents a serious warning which requires additional health-protective measures by the Iraqi authorities and the citizens," al-Jumaili told the official Iraqi News Agency (INA).

Al-Jumaili also said that the drop in temperatures in the coming winter, as well as social and religious gatherings, is a catalyst for the transmission of the virus, at a time when citizens continue non-compliance with the health-protective measures, according to INA.

Earlier, the health ministry frequently attributed the increase of COVID-19 infections to the lack of public compliance to the health instructions and the stronger testing capacity with the increase of labs in Baghdad and other provinces.

Iraq has taken a series of measures to contain the pandemic since February when the first coronavirus case appeared in the country.

Myanmar

Myanmar’s health ministry reported 2,158 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday in a record daily rise, along with 32 new deaths.

The Southeast Asian nation has locked down its biggest city, Yangon, and air and overland travel in the country has been halted

A total of 26,064 cases and 598 deaths have been reported in Myanmar, the vast majority since a second wave began in mid-August.

The country is preparing to hold a general election on Nov. 8.

ALSO READ: Australia’s Victoria faces longer wait to ease most virus curbs

Nepal

Nepal's Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai on Saturday confirmed that he tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the first cabinet minister hit by the virus.

In a social media post, the minister said his swab was tested on Saturday morning. After testing negative for COVID-19 on Oct. 5, he participated in some events outside the capital Kathmandu. After developing a fever on Friday evening, he got himself tested again on Saturday morning and found to be infected.

"Till now, no other health complication has appeared except marginal fever," he wrote.

Bhattarai later confirmed to Xinhua on his infection in a telephone conversation. "I have been staying in home isolation after testing positive for the coronavirus," Bhattarai said.

The minister fell victim to the virus after the infection of at least five of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli's aides.

Some of the aides have reported negative results of new tests after days of home isolation. Press advisor Surya Thapa told Xinhua on Saturday that he was given all-clear by the latest test.

The aides' infections have raised concern about the potential risks for the prime minister. Bhattarai said they have maintained adequate social distance with the prime minister and followed other health protocols during the cabinet meetings.

As of Saturday, Nepal has recorded a total of 105,684 confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to the health ministry.  

New Zealand

New Zealand reported one new case of COVID-19 on Sunday, said the Ministry of Health in a statement.

The new infection was an imported case arriving from India on Sept. 26. The patient was detected at a managed isolation facility in Auckland, it said.

The total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 reached 1,515, which was the number New Zealand reported to the World Health Organization.

The total number of active cases in New Zealand was 45, while no one was in hospital with COVID-19. There was no active community case of COVID-19 in the country, said the ministry.

Laboratories across New Zealand processed 3,809 tests on Saturday, bringing the total number of tests completed to date to 1,000,764.

Turkey

Turkey reported 1,649 new COVID-19 patients on Saturday, raising the total tally in the country to 334,031.

In addition, 56 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 8,778, while 1,391 more patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 293,145, according to the Health Ministry.

The rate of pneumonia in COVID-19 patients is 6.2 percent and the number of seriously ill patients is 1,414, the ministry said.

Turkish health professionals conducted 113,102 tests in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall number of tests to 11,506,414.

Lebanon

Lebanon registered on Saturday 1,388 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total number of infections in the country to 52,558, while the death toll went up by five to 455, the Health Ministry reported.

Lebanon has expanded its public hospitals to receive more COVID-19 patients amid a remarkable increase in infections over the past month.

Palestine

Palestine on Saturday reported 281 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections in the Palestinian territories to 55,134.

In a press statement, Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila said that out of the 281 new cases, 217 were recorded in the West Bank, six in East Jerusalem and 58 in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian health ministry recorded 11 new fatalities from the COVID-19, raising the total number of deaths to 442, the minister noted.

Palestine currently has 7,057 active cases, according to the minister. 

Singapore

Singapore's Ministry of Health reported 7 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, bringing the country's total tally to 57,866.

Of the new cases, five are imported cases, one is a community case and one is linked with a dormitory of foreign workers.

On Saturday, 23 more COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities. In all, 57,698 patients have fully recovered from the pandemic, the ministry said.

There are currently 40 confirmed cases who are still being treated in hospital. The conditions of most of them are stable or improving, and one is in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Furthermore, 101 cases are isolated and cared for at community facilities. These people have mild symptoms or are clinically well but still test positive for COVID-19.

As of Saturday, Singapore's total death toll from COVID-19 stood at 27.

South Korea

South Korea reported 58 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Saturday local time compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 24,606.

The daily caseload stayed below 100 for four straight days, but the double-digit growth continued due to small cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province.

Of the new cases, 19 were Seoul residents and 18 were people residing in Gyeonggi province.

Twelve were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 3,373.

Two more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 432. The total fatality rate stood at 1.76 percent.

A total of 69 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 22,693. The total recovery rate was 92.22 percent.

READ MORE: India confirmed infections rise to near 7 million

Australia 

Australia is in talks with Japan, South Korea, Singapore and South Pacific nations on reopening travel as coronavirus infections ease, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday.

Australia shut its borders in March to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus and is looking to revive tourism to help pull the country out of its first recession in nearly three decades.

While Australia has managed to contain the outbreak better than others, it is facing a second wave in the state of Victoria, where Melbourne remains under a tight lockdown. But infections there have been falling since early August.

Morrison said he had spoken to his counterparts in Japan, South Korea and some Pacific nations, while Foreign Minister Marise Payne had held talks in Singapore this week on resuming travel.

The country reported 19 new cases on Sunday, twelve of them in Victoria. It reported one fatality, taking the total COVID-19 death toll to 898.New Zealanders will be able to travel to some Australian states from Friday without quarantining, including to New South Wales, Canberra and the Northern Territory.

Moves to ease a hard lockdown in Victoria state have stalled. The state government had been set to allow all shops in Melbourne to reopen, outdoor dining to resume, and free movement from Oct 19 if the two-week average of new cases fell below 5.

State premier Daniel Andrews said on Sunday it was nearly impossible to reach that target by next week, with the two-week average at 9.3, but added some restrictions would be lifted.

Israel

Israel's Ministry of Health reported 2,017 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, bringing the total to 289,875.

The number of death cases reached 1,941, with 55 new fatalities, while the number of patients in serious condition decreased from 860 to 838, out of 1,540 patients currently hospitalized.

The number of recoveries rose to 225,725, with 477 new ones, while active cases currently stand at 62,206.

Earlier on Saturday, the ministry announced the launch of an innovative computerized system to support regulation of coronavirus patients among hospitals.

The system went into operation in Israel due to the high COVID-19 morbidity in the country, aiming to prevent overloads in hospitals.

It can regulate patients automatically, according to the loads level in hospitals throughout Israel.  

Bangladesh 

Bangladesh reported 1,193 new COVID-19 cases and 24 new deaths on Sunday, making the tally at 378,266 and death toll at 5,524, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.

The official data showed that 9,467 samples were tested in the last 24 hours across Bangladesh.

The total number of recovered patients in the country stood at 292,860 including 1,495 new recoveries on Sunday, said the DGHS.

According to the official data, the COVID-19 fatality rate in Bangladesh is now 1.46 percent and the current recovery rate is 77.42 percent.

The Philippines

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines surged to 339,341 after the Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 2,502 new daily cases on Sunday.

The DOH said that the number of recoveries also surged to 293,075 after 17,057 more patients recovered. Meanwhile, 83 more patients died from the viral disease, bringing the death toll to 6,321.

The Philippines' capital Metro Manila topped the regions in the country with the highest number of daily confirmed cases on Sunday with 782.

The DOH said over 3.87 million people in the Philippines have been tested so far. The Philippines has a population of about 109 million.