Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy says COVID-19 vaccines would be made available at key airports in the state starting June 1.

The Philippine president has approved an amnesty program for Muslim and communist rebels who would agree to surrender their weapons as they return to normal life in the latest such attempt to tame rural insurgencies that have raged for half a century. (Joey Dalumpines/Malacanang Presidential Photographers Division via AP)MANILA – The Philippine president has approved an amnesty program for Muslim and communist rebels who would agree to surrender their weapons as they return to normal life in the latest such attempt to tame rural insurgencies that have raged for half a century. Duterte also agreed to include former insurgents who once belonged to the main communist New People’s Army in his amnesty program. The 75-year-old Duterte has promised to resolve Muslim and communist insurgencies before he leaves office. The amnesty program excludes the notoriously brutal Abu Sayyaf and other small armed bands associated with the Islamic State group.

Lanao del Sur province and its capital, Marawi city, will fall under a lockdown starting Thursday due to infection spikes in recent weeks. The Philippines has confirmed more than 307,000 cases of coronavirus infection and 5,381 people have died from COVID-19 as of Monday. The Serum Institute now says it has agreed to produce an additional 100 million doses of coronavirus vaccines. Countries including Britain, France and the U.S. have signed deals with pharmaceutical companies for access to COVID-19 vaccines even before they have been licensed. The Serum Institute has entered manufacturing agreements for vaccine candidates from AstraZeneca and Novovax.

Duterte first placed the country under a state of calamity in March when the number of confirmed infections was approaching 200 with about a dozen deaths. The country now has more than 291,700 confirmed cases, the highest in Southeast Asia, with more than 5,000 deaths. India announced more than 75,000 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday along with 1,053 more deaths, taking total fatalities to 88,935. — South Korea has added 61 coronavirus cases, its lowest daily increase since mid-August amid a downward trend in new infections. Executive power in South Korea is concentrated in the president.

In this handout photo provided by the Malacanang Presidential Photographers Division, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures as he meets members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila, Philippines on Monday Aug. 30, 2020. Duterte publicly ordered the country's top customs official to shoot and kill drug smugglers in one of his most overt threats during a deadly four-year campaign that has been the centerpiece of his presidency. (King Rodriguez/Malacanang Presidential Photographers Division via AP)

In this handout photo provided by the Malacanang Presidential Photographers Division, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures as he meets members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila, Philippines on Monday Aug. 30, 2020. Duterte publicly ordered the country's top customs official to shoot and kill drug smugglers in one of his most overt threats during a deadly four-year campaign that has been the centerpiece of his presidency. (King Rodriguez/Malacanang Presidential Photographers Division via AP)

Philippine officials placed the central city of Cebu back under a strict lockdown and retained quarantine restrictions in the capital for another two weeks as coronavirus infections continue to spike alarmingly. The Philippines has among the most COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia with more than 37,500 people infected, including 1,266 who have died. Duterte blamed Cebu city, which will remain under a lockdown up to July 15, for many violations of the rules that led to infection spikes. He pleaded people to refrain from religious gatherings and criticized churches and other facilities for failing to use proper prevention measures. No new deaths were reported, leaving the toll at 4,634 among 83,534 cases of COVID-19 recorded since the virus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.

While concentrations of the virus were highest in ICU wards, general wards (even those not treating coronavirus patients) showed positive testing results too. Researches said compared to floor samples of other viruses, the rate of positivity for COVID-19 was relatively high. Half of the samples from the soles of the ICU medical staff shoes tested positive. As a result, researchers concluded the soles of medical staff shoes might function as carriers. For the latest studies and developments in the coronavirus pandemic, sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter.