A woman receives a dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine during the first rollout of vaccinations in Australia at the Castle Hill Medical Centre in Sydney on Feb 21, 2021. (STEVEN SAPHORE / AFP)

CANBERRA / DHAKA / BEIRUT / NEW DELHI / WELLINGTON / KUALA LUMPUR - The Australian government announced a new campaign on Wednesday to encourage people to get vaccinated for both COVID-19 and influenza during this winter.

Australia on Wednesday reported more than 30,000 new coronavirus cases and more than 60 deaths

Health Minister Mark Butler launched the new information campaign targeting 6 million Australians who have not yet had a third COVID-19 vaccine dose.

He warned that coronavirus cases and hospitalizations would continue to rise throughout winter and that booster vaccines were the best way to protect the health system.

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"This winter, we have the threat of significant transmission of both COVID-19 and influenza, and already we are seeing increased numbers of people seeking treatment for respiratory illness from health professionals and hospitals," Butler said in a statement.

"If you are eligible for a COVID-19 booster dose, or haven't yet had your annual flu jab, make an appointment today to get vaccinated."

Australia on Wednesday reported more than 30,000 new coronavirus cases and more than 60 deaths.

It takes Australia's pandemic death toll past 9,500, more than 7,000 of which have occurred in 2022.

According to the Department of Health, there were 3,022 COVID-19 cases being treated in Australian hospitals on Wednesday, including 103 in intensive care units.

As of Wednesday afternoon, a total of 7,883,197 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Australia. There are approximately 213,093 active cases nationwide. 

Garment workers wait in a queue to receive a dose of the Moderna vaccine against the COVID-19 coronavirus in Konabari, Bangladesh about 40 km from Dhaka on Jul 18, 2021. (MUNIR UZ ZAMAN / AFP)

Bangladesh

Bangladesh is seeing a surge in COVID-19 infections, with 1,135 new cases being reported on Wednesday, the highest in about four months.

One COVID-19 death was recorded over the past 24 hours.

To date, Bangladesh has recorded 1,959,209 cases of COVID-19 and 29,134 deaths, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.

Some 8,536 samples were tested in the last 24 hours across the country, with the daily positivity rate jumping to 13.30 percent, official data showed.

The total number of recovered patients stood at 19,06,105, including 122 new recoveries, said the DGHS.

According to official data, the COVID-19 fatality rate in Bangladesh is now 1.49 percent and the current recovery rate is 97.29 percent.

Against this backdrop, private and public testing facilities in the capital Dhaka and elsewhere in the country have been witnessing a rush of people in recent days. 

A healthcare worker receives the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine during a nationwide vaccination program at the American University Medical Center in Beirut, Lebanon, Feb 14, 2021. (BILAL HUSSEIN / AP)

Lebanon

Lebanon registered on Wednesday a daily increase of 861 new COVID-19 cases, which is significantly higher than previous reports in the past few weeks.

The increase raised the total number of infections to 1,105,129, according to data released by the Ministry of Public Health on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the number of deaths from the virus went up by one case to 10,456.

This month's last record daily high of 447 new cases was reported on June 19.

Also on Wednesday, the ministry also reported a COVID-19 testing positivity rate of 8.9 percent and 16 new hospital admissions.

Lebanon has seen a resurgence in the daily number of COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks as the country has started receiving a great number of tourists and expatriates for the summer season.

A health worker shows empty vials of the Covishield vaccines for COVID-19 at a press club in Gauhati, India, May 14, 2021. (ANUPAM NATH / AP)

India

The number of new COVID-19 cases registered per day in India continues to rise steeply, with the figure surpassing the 13,000-mark on Saturday.

According to the data released by the federal health ministry, as many as 13,216 new cases were registered across India in the past 24 hours, taking the total tally to 43,283,793.

Most cases were reported from the states of Kerala, Maharashtra and Delhi, the ministry's data showed.

A day ago, 12,213 new cases were registered in India.

The number of deaths per day due to the pandemic also continues to rise as 23 people died during the past 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 524,840.

The daily positivity rate is 2.73 percent, while the weekly positivity rate has been 2.47 percent, revealed the federal health ministry.

A health worker shows empty vials of the Covishield vaccines for COVID-19 at a press club in Gauhati, India, May 14, 2021. (ANUPAM NATH / AP)

Malaysia

Malaysia reported 2,425 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Wednesday, bringing the national total to 4,547,051, according to the Health Ministry.

There are eight new imported cases, with 2,417 cases being local transmissions, data released on the ministry's website showed.

Four more deaths have been reported, bringing the death toll to 35,741.

New Zealand

New Zealand recorded 5,285 new community cases of COVID-19 with 12 more deaths, the Ministry of Health said on Thursday.

Among the new community infections, 1,596 were reported in the largest city Auckland, the ministry said.

In addition, 106 new cases of COVID-19 were detected at the New Zealand border.

Currently, 300 COVID-19 patients are being treated in hospitals, including five in intensive care units or high dependency units.

New Zealand has reported 1,287,674 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic hit the country in early 2020.

A woman wearing a face mask passes by posters about precautions against the COVID-19 illness on a street in Seoul, South Korea, March 10, 2020. (AHN YOUNG-JOON / AP)

South Korea

South Korea reported 7,497 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight Wednesday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 18,305,783, the health authorities said Thursday.

The daily caseload was down from 8,992 the previous day, hovering below 10,000 for the 14th consecutive day, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.