SEOUL -- South Korea's health authorities decided Friday to extend the toughest social-distancing rules in the capital area for two more weeks amid the continued resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Level 4 social-distancing guideline, the highest in the country's four-tier quarantine rules, will be kept in place in Seoul, its surrounding Gyeonggi province and the western port city of Incheon for two more weeks until Aug. 8. (South Korea-Social-distancing rules)

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ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan has confirmed 1,425 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, leading the country's tally to cross the 1-million mark, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) said Friday morning.

It was the first time when the country reported less than 2,000 new cases in a day after almost one week's time, the NCOC's data showed. (Pakistan-COVID-19 cases-1 million)

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MANILA -- China delivered an additional batch of Sinovac CoronaVac vaccines to the Philippines on Friday to support the Southeast Asian country's campaign against the COVID-19 pandemic.

China was the first to deliver coronavirus vaccines to the Philippines. It donated the first batch of CoronaVac to Manila on Feb. 28, allowing the country to kick off its vaccination drive on March 1. As of Friday, China had been the biggest supplier of COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines. (Philippines-China-Vaccines)

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WELLINGTON -- Quarantine free travel from all Australian states and territories to New Zealand is being suspended as the COVID-19 situation there worsens.

From 11:59 p.m. Friday Australians will no longer be able to enter New Zealand quarantine-free. This will be in place for at least the next eight weeks, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a press conference on Friday. (New Zealand-Australia-Quarantine free travel)