India's COVID-19 surge continued as a fresh high of 200,739 new cases were registered on Thursday during the past 24 hours, taking the total tally to 14,074,564, said the latest data released by the federal health ministry.

 

On the same day, Secretary-General of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Toshihiro Nikai said canceling the Tokyo Olympics this summer could be an option if the COVID-19 situation continues to worsen.

 

Nikai, the No. 2 leader of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's ruling party, said during the recording of a TV show that canceling the Games may be an option if the spread of coronavirus infections forces organizers to think it would be difficult to hold the event.

 

A weekend curfew was imposed in India's capital New Delhi following a steep rise in COVID-19 cases over the past few days, local Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said.

 

The ongoing Kumbh Mela congregation in India's northern state of Uttarakhand will continue as per schedule until April 30 and there has been no discussion to cut it short despite the rising COVID-19 infections, officials said.

 

Bangladesh's COVID-19 death toll reached a grim milestone as 94 more people died from the pandemic, bringing the total fatality to 10,081. The country's Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) also reported 4,192 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, raising the case tally to 707,362.

 

Afghanistan's Public Health Ministry reported 78 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing its total tally to 57,612.

 

Fiji's Health Ministry is working to administer all available COVID-19 vaccines in the island nation by Saturday, local media reported.

 

According to the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC), Fijian Health Minister Ifereimi Waqainabete said that based on the current projections, they should complete administering the full batch in two days, having covered 50,000 Fijians.

 

Australia's national airline Qantas is talking up the prospects of more domestic flights and the reopening of international routes facing a couple of favorable conditions.

 

Qantas said all domestic crew for Qantas and Jetstar are now back at work, and its domestic capacity is expected to reach 90 percent of pre-COVID levels by the middle of this year, up from a previous forecast of 80 percent, and will then surpass 2019 levels of flying.

 

Cambodia confirmed 344 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections in the kingdom to 5,218, the country's Ministry of Health said in a statement.

 

The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 11,429 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 904,285. The death toll climbed to 15,594 after 148 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH said.

 

Thailand recorded 1,543 new COVID-19 infections, hitting a record high for the second consecutive day and bringing the nationwide tally to 37,453. Of the new cases, 1,540 were local infections and three others were imported cases, according to the Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).

 

New Zealand reported two cases of COVID-19 in managed isolation and no new cases in the community.

 

South Korea reported 698 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Wednesday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 112,117. The daily caseload was down from 731 the previous day, but it stayed around 700, raising worry about the fourth wave of the pandemic.