Nikkei Asia is tracking the spread of the coronavirus that was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
Cumulative global cases have reached 253,269,523 according to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The worldwide death toll has hit 5,099,867.
For more information about the spread of COVID-19 and vaccination progress around the world, please see our interactive charts and maps.
-- Global coronavirus tracker charts
-- Status of vaccinations around the world
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Monday, Nov. 15 (Tokyo time)
12:22 p.m. Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda says the country's economy is likely to recover to pre-pandemic levels in the first half of 2022. Kuroda said, "The economy's recovery has been somewhat slower than initially expected," as COVID-19 curbs and parts shortages hit consumption and output. "But the mechanism for an economic recovery remains intact," he said in a speech at a meeting with business leaders in Nagoya.
11:40 a.m. Thailand's economy returned to year-on-year contraction in the three months ending September due to the country's delta outbreaks that led to business lockdowns in heavily affected provinces, including Bangkok. Gross domestic product shrank 0.3% in the third quarter year on year, according to data released by the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council.
10:45 a.m. China's new home prices fell 0.2% in October from the previous month -- the biggest decline since February 2015 -- amid weakening demand, as authorities maintain purchase restrictions to deter speculators. New home prices rose 3.4% year on year in October, slower than the 3.8% in September, according to Reuters calculations released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
10:00 a.m. China reports 52 cases for Sunday compared with 89 a day earlier. Of the new infections, 32 were locally transmitted, down from 70 the previous day. The city of Dalian in the northeastern province of Liaoning accounted for 25 of the local cases. The country also reports 14 new asymptomatic patients, which it classifies separately from confirmed cases, compared with 25 a day earlier.
9:30 a.m. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's approval rating has fallen to its lowest level in 18 months, a poll conducted for The Australian newspaper shows. Satisfaction with Morrison's performance dropped to 44%, the lowest level since March 2020 when he faced criticism over his response to devastating bush fires. The findings are a blow to Morrison's hopes that easing COVID curbs and signs of a stronger economy will aid his reelection prospects in May 2022.
8:56 a.m. Japan's economy shrank 0.8% in the July-September quarter from the previous quarter, equal to an annualized pace of 3.0% . The economy struggled as exports fell and consumer spending remained sluggish amid the pandemic. The result compares with an average forecast of an annualized 0.56% decline, according to a survey of 37 economists by the Japan Center for Economic Research.
Kids in Israel between the ages of 5 and 11 will be able to get vaccinated soon, the government says. © Reuters 5:00 a.m. Israel says children aged 5 to 11 will be eligible for vaccination and that a starting date for the inoculation campaign would be announced within days. The decision followed approval by an expert panel on vaccinations last week after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use of Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine for the age group at a 10-microgram dose. The jab given to those aged 12 and older is 30 micrograms. The two companies have said their vaccine showed 90.7% efficacy against the coronavirus in a clinical trial of children aged 5 to 11.
0:20 a.m. Singapore reports 1,723 cases compared with 2,304 the previous day, with 10 new deaths.
Sunday, Nov. 14
5:56 p.m. Cambodia will stop requiring quarantine for vaccinated travelers from Monday, Prime Minister Hun Sen says. The announcement was made via social media in a voice message. The country had previously required a lengthy quarantine of more than 18 months. Travelers will have to show a negative test 72 hours prior to travel and have had two jabs. Unvaccinated travelers will have to quarantine for 14 days.
1:29 p.m. The city of Beijing says people who recently visited China's ports of entry should avoid coming to the capital, as the country remains concerned about infections from abroad amid a monthlong outbreak. The small northern administrative divisions of Heihe, Erenhot and Ejina, along China's borders with Russia and Mongolia, were among the hardest-hit areas in an outbreak since mid-October that has seen more than 1,200 domestically transmitted cases.
1:25 p.m. Australia could start administering jabs for children under age 12 in January. Health Minister Greg Hunt said medical regulators are reviewing the health and safety data for vaccines targeting children between the ages of 5 and 11 and are unlikely to decide this year. "The expectation that they have set is the first part of January, hopefully early January," Hunt told the Australian Broadcast Corporation. "But they're going as quickly as possible."
2:35 a.m. Young children in Vienna can start getting coronavirus vaccinations next week as part of a pilot project, Austria media reports. Broadcaster ORF reported that about 200 children between the ages of 5 and 11 can get jabs of the Pfizer vaccine each day in the Austrian capital starting Monday. The pilot project is limited to Vienna only and doesn't apply to the rest of the country.
1:57 a.m. Morocco will conduct rapid COVID-19 tests to passengers arriving in its airports and ports, and will deny access to any visitor with a positive result, the government says. The measure, which strengthens an existing requirement of a negative PCR test 48 hours before departure, aims to protect the country amid a surge of cases in Europe. Travelers with positive tests must be returned at the cost of the airline that brought them into the country, unless they have a permanent residency document, the government says.
Saturday, Nov. 13
11:51 p.m. Singapore's Health Ministry reports 2,304 new cases compared with 3,099 the previous day, along with 14 deaths. Of the new cases, 2,179 are reported in the community, 120 in the migrant worker dormitories and five are imported cases. The weekly infection growth rate is 0.98.
10:15 p.m. German Chancellor Angela Merkel calls on all unvaccinated Germans to get their shots as quickly as possible as the country's infection rate hit the latest in a string of new highs and death numbers were growing, the Associated Press reports. "If we stand together, if we think about protecting ourselves and caring for others, we can save our country a lot this winter," Merkel says in her weekly podcast.
6 p.m. Thailand will delay the reopening of nightlife entertainment venues to Jan. 15 despite pleas from the industry to open sooner. A spokesman for the government's COVID-19 administration cited concerns about ventilation and inefficient prevention measures in pubs, bars and karaoke joints, the Associated Press reports. The Thailand Nightlife and Entertainment Business Association had hoped that nightlife businesses, shut since April, would reopen next month.
5:43 p.m. According to Reuters, Russia reports a record one-day death toll of 1,241 from COVID-19 as well as 39,256 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours.