* China's National Immigration Administration (NIA) has vowed to further beef up efforts against COVID-19 importation and firmly prevent coronavirus transmission through entry and exit channels.
* Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Friday called on the citizens to watch the Olympics at home at a news conference announcing the expansion of coronavirus restrictions in several areas as Delta virus drives infection numbers to record highs.
* Cambodia on Friday logged 668 COVID-19 infections with 240 imported cases, pushing the national total caseload to 76,585, the Ministry of Health (MoH) said in a statement.
* The Philippines has extended the travel ban for all inbound travelers from India and nine other countries from August 1 to 15 to prevent the spread of the highly infectious coronavirus Delta variant, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Friday.
* Thailand will order an additional 10 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, its health ministry said on Friday, as the Southeast Asian country battles its biggest COVID-19 outbreak to date.
* India reported the most cases in three weeks, the latest evidence of a worrying trend of rising cases that has forced one state to lock down.
* Russia reported 23,564 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, including 3,481 in Moscow, taking the official national tally since the pandemic began to 6,242,066.
* Britain's transport minister said it was essential to have painful travel restrictions and a cautious approach to countries such as France to avoid the spread of a variant.
* The Czech government approved offering two days of additional vacation to state employees who get vaccinated, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said.
* Republic of Korea announced plans to expand its vaccine rollout to people aged 18 to 49.
* Sydney's poorest neighbourhoods braced for military enforcement of the city's toughest and longest lockdown of the pandemic.
* The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has described the Delta variant to be as contagious as chickenpox and could cause severe illness, the New York Times reported, citing an internal CDC document.
* Israeli President Isaac Herzog received a third shot of vaccine, kicking off a campaign to give booster doses to people aged over 60.
* Saudi Arabia's tourism ministry said it will re-allow entry for tourist visa holders starting August 1.
* The Serum Institute of India said it had partnered with an industry body to expand the reach of COVID-19 shots in the country's countryside.
* China's CanSino Biologics may start as early as next month a clinical trial using Russia's Sputnik V followed by a shot of its own vaccine, a senior executive said late on Thursday.
* Trials mixing a first dose of the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine with AstraZeneca's vaccine revealed no serious side effects among volunteers, the Russian Direct Investment Fund said.
* Emergent BioSolutions said it will resume production of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine at its troubled Baltimore facility.
* Australia will have to vaccinate 80% of its adults against COVID-19 before it can consider reopening its border, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday as he announced a four-stage plan to greater freedom.
* Canada reported 897 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday afternoon, raising the cumulative total to 1,429,579 cases, including 26,575 deaths, according to CTV.
* The Ukrainian Ministry of Health has introduced new border crossing rules to contain the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant, Interfax-Ukraine reported on Thursday.
* Iran's foreign ministry urged on Thursday neighboring Azerbaijan and Armenia to overcome tensions and conflicts, and vowed to offer "any kind of assistance" to broker a lasting peace between the two countries.
* Ireland registered 160,000 overseas passenger arrivals in June, up 180 percent year-on-year, the country's Central Statistics Office (CSO) said on Thursday.
* At least 100 Taliban militants were killed and about 90 others wounded during Afghan government security forces' separate offensives on Thursday, multiple sources confirmed on Friday.
