South Korea posted a record of 219,241 coronavirus cases for Tuesday, a sharp spike after the daily tallies hovered around 170,000, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Wednesday. This is the first time the country’s case count has topped 200,000, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). There were 96 deaths, bringing the toll to 8,266. The fatality rate has fallen sharply, from 0.88 per cent before the omicron-led surge to 0.24 per cent Wednesday. However contacts are expected to increase as in-person schooling starts this week, with presidential elections next week . The surge in cases comes as South Korea temporarily lifts a requirement for vaccine passes or negative COVID-19 tests at a number of businesses to ease the strain on testing centres, authorities said on Monday, as the country faces a wave of Omicron infections. The move will allow public testing and health facilities to devote more resources to battling the wave of new cases, Interior Minister Jeon Hae-cheol told a COVID-19 response meeting. Australian PM tests positive for Covid Prime Minister Scott Morrison has tested positive for Covid-19 but says he will carry on working from isolation at home as Australia’s east coast battles huge floods. The prime minister said he was suffering from “flu-like” symptoms after a PCR test came back positive on Tuesday. “While in isolation I will continue to discharge all my responsibilities as prime minister,” he said in a statement late on Tuesday. Australia to fund lethal weapons for Ukraine, says PM Morrison Morrison said he would be working on the response to deadly floods in Queensland and New South Wales, “ensuring we stand with each and every one of the affected communities”. “I will also be focused on our urgent response to the tragedy unfolding in Ukraine and Russia’s senseless aggression, staying in regular contact with our security and intelligence officials and our international partners.” Morrison said he had tested himself for Covid-19 on the mornings of Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, all with negative results. But he developed a fever late on Tuesday and tested himself again, with “inconclusive” results. A more precise PCR test then showed he was infected with Covid-19. The prime minister said his wife and two daughters had so far tested negative but would be isolating with him at home as close contacts. New Zealand police move against protesters New Zealand police launched their biggest effort yet to bring an end to the anti-mandate protest in parliament grounds that has disrupted downtown Wellington for more than three weeks. In a predawn operation on Wednesday, hundreds of police officers, some dressed in riot gear, began to tow vehicles and remove tents from streets surrounding parliament buildings, clashing with demonstrators and hauling some away in handcuffs. Protesters hurled cobblestones torn up from the footpath at officers with riot shields. Police used fire hoses to push back the demonstrators. “It was an attack on our frontline police, it was an attack on our parliament, it was an attack on our values, and it was wrong,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters. “Parliament grounds have been desecrated.” Protesters also said police had used pepper spray, while police said protesters were armed with pitchforks and home-made wooden shields. About 65 arrests have been made so far and residents have been urged to avoid the area. “We have observed an escalation in concerning behaviour which has ultimately resulted in today’s action,” Police Commissioner Andrew Coster told a news conference. “The harm being done far outweighs any legitimate protest. The balance has tipped and it is time to bring this to an end.” Firefighters and police moved to extinguish blazes at the protest site, one of which destroyed a slide which was part of parliament’s children’s playground. It appeared protesters were throwing items onto the fire. Inspired by the blockade in Ottawa , the protest against Covid vaccine mandates and other restrictions has frustrated the government and annoyed local. Protesters have blocked streets with their cars and campervans and turned parliament grounds and surrounding areas into a tent village complete with food, massage and yoga tents and areas for children to play in. There are concerns about hygiene at the site, particularly for young children. After Covid-19 cases were identified among protesters, Ardern labelled it a “Covid camp.” The government has refused to engage with them. While the occupation, now in its 23rd day, has largely been peaceful, there have been some confrontations and ugly incidents. Last week, police said protesters threw human waste at officers, and three were taken to hospital after being sprayed with an acid-like substance. There has also been footage of police punching demonstrators when tempers flared during efforts to reduce the perimeter around the protest site. Police cordoned off the area on Wednesday and made progress clearing roads of vehicles. In a message broadcast from loud speakers at parliament, police said the grounds are now closed to the public and anyone occupying the site risks being arrested. However, there was no sign midday in Wellington of demonstrators abandoning the main protest camp. While the main demand of the protesters appears to be an end to vaccine mandates, there are a range of groups among them. Some espouse conspiracy theories and police have identified some far-right activists. Some placards and graffiti of the protesters have also called for violence against politicians and the media. Filipinos celebrate Ash Wednesday as rules ease Thousands of Filipinos flocked to churches to observe Ash Wednesday, with Catholic priests and nuns daubing their foreheads with a cross for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Most Covid-19 restrictions were scrapped this week after a sharp drop in infections and increased vaccinations, allowing churches to pack their pews and physical contact to resume. Devotees wearing masks began lining up outside Baclaran Church in Manila before dawn to receive the ash cross on their foreheads – a ritual that signals the beginning of Lent. Churches have in the past two years sprinkled it in people’s hair due to anti-Covid measures. “I feel like I am in heaven,” Lydia Smith, 76, said outside the church where several thousand of the faithful stood in long queues waiting their turn. “I am really happy even if it’s very crowded. It’s like the joy of the church has returned.” The Philippines is overwhelmingly Catholic, with some 80 per cent of its people said to be believers. Since early 2020 most devotees have been forced to follow church services online and major religious festivals have been curtailed or cancelled due to strict social-distancing rules. But Tuesday marked the beginning of the “new normal” in the national capital region and 38 other areas. Most restrictions have been removed, allowing places of worship, restaurants and public transport to operate at full capacity. Local church officials gave the green light for the “imposition of ashes on the forehead” to resume on Wednesday, but sprinkling the powdery residue in hair was still allowed. “One of the tragedies of Covid-19 is it separated us,” said Father Victorino Cueto, the rector of Baclaran Church. “When we put the ash on the forehead, it means that we are really reaching out to one another, in faith and in love.” Hotel safety officer Radito Mendoza, 62, welcomed the resumption of the tradition. “I’m so happy that we are slowly going back to normal and those who want to go to church are now able to do so,” he said. India’s Sputnik vaccine exports face risk India ’s production and exports of Russia’s Sputnik Covid-19 vaccines are expected to slow further following US sanctions on Russia’s sovereign wealth fund that promotes the shot globally, three Indian pharmaceutical industry sources said. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) had billed India as one of Sputnik’s biggest production hubs and markets, though local sales have stagnated at 1.2 million doses out of 1.8 billion doses of various vaccines administered in the country. RDIF, which has said the US sanction this week could complicate its promotion of Sputnik shots, has deals with several Indian companies to make nearly 1 billion doses of it, though output has not risen beyond a few million doses. RDIF’s main Indian distributor for Sputnik is Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories and its manufacturing partners include Hetero and the Serum Institute of India (SII). Another Indian company, which was to make more than 100 million Sputnik doses but had held off production due to a lack of demand in India, has now decided to not manufacture it at all, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The person declined to be named or identify the company. Why is India facing a vaccine crunch and can it ramp up production? Another source at an Indian company said Sputnik sales were likely to be slow in the near future. RDIF and Hetero did not respond to requests for comment. The SII declined to comment. Dr. Reddy’s, one of India’s biggest drugmakers which has been selling its products in and around Russia for more than three decades, said it did not see any impact as Indian companies no longer import material from Moscow to make Sputnik shots in India. “We have manufacturing capabilities in India and drug substance is not imported. Hence there is no impact,” a spokesperson said in an email. “Overall, we are monitoring evolving developments closely and preparing accordingly.” Some 4 million Sputnik doses, bottled in India using imported material from Russia last year, were exported around October. Last month, New Delhi sent 135,875 locally made doses of the single-dose Sputnik Light vaccine to Uzbekistan, according to India’s foreign ministry. Reporting by Reuters, Agence-France Presse, Bloomberg