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 257,513,027 according to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The worldwide death toll has hit 5,150,399.
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 22 (Tokyo time)
11:30 a.m. South Korea reports 2,827 new cases, down from 3,120 a day earlier. However, it is the highest daily tally for a Monday, when announcements usually include totals lower than those for other weekdays due to fewer tests being administered on weekends, according to the Yonhap news agency. The number of patients in serious condition remains high, marking the third straight day the country logged over 500.
A harborside bar in Sydney on October 22, 2021. Australia is starting to open its borders to some visa holders and travelers. © Reuters 10:00 a.m. Australia on Dec. 1 will open its border to fully vaccinated eligible visa holders, who will not have to apply for a travel exemption, Prime Minister Scott Morrison says. In addition, all fully vaccinated travelers from Japan and South Korea will be allowed into the county beginning next month. Australia's largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, opened their borders to international travelers on Nov. 1, although the easing of entry rules only benefited returning citizens and permanent residents.
7:00 a.m. Riots broke out in cities across the Netherlands on Sunday, the third night in a row that police clashed with mobs of angry youths who set fires and threw rocks to protest COVID-19 restrictions. Unrest was reported in locations including Leeuwarden and Groningen in the north, the eastern town of Enschede and Tilburg in the south. The protests were sparked by opposition to government plans to restrict use of a national corona pass to people who have either recovered from COVID-19 or have been vaccinated, excluding those with a negative test result.
4:20 a.m. Brussels saw about 35,000 protesters take to the streets of the Belgian capital over government-imposed restrictions amid the country's recent rise in COVID-19 cases. Confrontations broke out between demonstrators and police, with some protesters throwing smoke bombs and fireworks, the newspaper Le Soir reports.
4:08 a.m. The U.S. Marine Corps is on pace to have the worst vaccination record among American military branches as up to 10,000 active-duty personnel are set to miss the service's Nov. 28 deadline, The Washington Post reports. While at least 94% of Marines have already met President Joe Biden's COVID-19 vaccine requirements or are on track to do so, the unvaccinated 10,000 are too late to start and complete the process by the deadline. The Navy has the highest vaccination rate within the U.S. military, at 99.7%.
3:02 a.m. Russian President Vladimir Putin received a booster shot against COVID-19, Russian news agencies quote him as saying. Putin in June said he had been vaccinated with Sputnik V vaccine.
Sunday, Nov. 21
1:40 a.m. The U.S. death toll from COVID related cases this year surpasses the toll from 2020, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing data from Johns Hopkins University. Total reported deaths in the U.S. reach 770,780, more than double the 385,343 COVID-19 deaths recorded last year, the paper reports.
Saturday, Nov. 20
11:22 p.m. Two people are hospitalized in the Dutch city of Rotterdam on Saturday after they were seriously injured when police fired shots during a protest against COVID-19 measures, authorities say. Reuters reports crowds of several hundred rioters torched cars, set off fireworks and threw rocks at police during the protests last Friday. Police responded with warning shots and water canons.
Protesters gathered to voice opposition to government plans to restrict access to indoor venues to people who have a "corona pass," showing they have been vaccinated, have already recovered from an infection or have proof of a negative test.
10:44 p.m. A compulsory quarantine ends for 111 Cathay Pacific employees who had stayed in the same hotel in Germany as three pilots who tested positive for COVID-19. Cathay Pacific Airways fired the three cargo pilots who were infected with COVID-19 during a layover in Frankfurt, over an unspecified "serious breach" of crew rules while overseas. Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health says it has ended the compulsory quarantine of the 111 staff, but 10 aircrew members were classified as close contacts and were asked to remain in isolation.
3:21 p.m. Singapore will relax curbs on social distancing from Monday, government ministers say. Limits on social interactions and dining out will be expanded to five people from the current rule of up to two vaccinated people. Singapore's number of daily COVID-19 cases has fallen below 3,000 on average. About 85% of the island nation's 5.45 million people have been vaccinated.
2:46 p.m. Hong Kong approves lowering the age limit for the COVID-19 vaccine from China's Sinovac Biotech to three years old from 18, as it pushes to incentivize more of its 7.5 million residents to get inoculated, according to Reuters. "Adolescents aged 12 to 17 will be accorded priority to receive the CoronaVac vaccine, with a view to extending to children of a younger age group at a later stage," said Hong Kong Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan.
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To catch up on earlier developments, see last week's latest updates .