India’s cases hit another daily record

India has reported another record 24-hour jump in coronavirus cases as the World Health Organization cautioned against the country’s plans to release a vaccine by August.

The Health Ministry added 24,850 confirmed cases on Sunday, bringing the nationwide total to 673,165, making India the fourth hardest-hit in the world behind the US, Brazil and Russia. India’s death toll rose to 19,268.

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The Indian Council of Medical Research, the agency leading the country's COVID-19 response, said last week that it had set Aug. 15 -- India’s independence day -- as a target for developing a coronavirus vaccine and asking clinical trial investigators to enroll participants by July 7.

The WHO’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said in an interview Saturday with India’s online newspaper The Wire that more realistically, some phase 1 results would be available by August "if all goes according to plan.”

Delhi authorities have called in 33,000 health workers to screen about two million people.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Sunday it has confirmed 61 additional cases, bringing the national total to 13,091. It says the death toll remained at 283.

The agency says 43 of the newly reported cases were locally infected patients. All but two of those cases were either from the Seoul metropolitan area or two central cities, Gwangju and Daejeon. The remaining 18 cases were linked to international arrivals.

South Korea has been grappling with an uptick in new infections since it eased social distancing rules in early May. South Korea recorded 63 new cases on both Saturday and Friday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to strictly observe social distancing and wear face masks, saying such precautions are the only option available until a vaccine is developed.

A hairdresser sits in his shop as a waterlogged street is reflected in a mirror during heavy rainfall in Mumbai. AP

In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region: Authorities in Thailand are expected next week to extend a coronavirus state of emergency that critics say has been used to silence political dissent. The National Security Council declared it will recommend that the emergency decree be extended at least until July 31. The decree allows the government to implement curfews, censor the media and disperse gatherings.

 Australia reported 37 new cases, including 30 in Victoria state, where health authorities are scrambling to contain an outbreak. Authorities said they tested 20,000 people after going door-to-door in Melbourne suburbs in their attempts to stamp out the virus. In Sydney, a 12-year-old student tested positive, forcing the closure of his school for cleaning. New Zealand, meanwhile, reported one new virus case from a returning traveller. New Zealand has 14 active cases, all of them returning travellers who remain quarantined.

South Korea reported 39 new cases, mostly from the Seoul metropolitan area where officials have been struggling to stem transmissions. South Korea was considered an anti-virus success story after containing an outbreak during February and March surrounding the southeastern city of Daegu.

China reported a further decline in new cases on Friday, with 13. Eleven were in Beijing, where mass testing has been done following an outbreak that appears to have been largely brought under control.

Japan's capital confirmed 54 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday, a level which is raising concerns about the possible need for additional cautionary steps. Japan lifted a seven-week state of emergency in late May, and social and business activity has since largely resumed. Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said the daily increase in cases is rather high, but the city's hospitals and medical systems have not been overwhelmed. Most of Friday’s new cases were people in their 20s and 30s, Koike said.

Agencies