Heavily armed men opened fire in a billiards hall in a neighborhood in the northern manufacturing city of Choloma, police say.

Thousands of soldiers armed with assault rifles have been bussed into Colombo to reinforce police guarding Rajapaksa's official residence, which anti-government protesters have vowed to storm.

Months of blackouts and dire shortages of food, fuel and medicines have caused widespread suffering across the South Asian island and weeks of overwhelmingly peaceful anti-government protests.

Hundreds of protesters gathered near Rajapaksa's residence in a Colombo suburb before police dispersed them with tear gas and water cannons.

Police say a curfew has been imposed in four police divisions of Colombo, the country's commercial capital.

India's overall positive case rate has nearly tripled since early November to 3.24% on Tuesday, and some cities have already closed schools and colleges.

South Africa, with close to 3.5 million infections and 91,000 deaths, has been the worst-hit country in Africa during the pandemic on both counts.

The lockdown in Australia's largest city which has run for two months now will be extended for another month.

Stay-at-home restrictions in both Melbourne and the capital of Canberra have also been extended to Sept 2.

No end date has been announced for the measure, an unprecedented move to curb infections as Vietnam battles a rapid Covid-19 surge.

Thailand recorded 9,276 new cases and 72 fatalities Friday as it battles a severe third wave of infections that kicked off in April.

Five police officers were injured, two of whom were taken to hospital, and two of the ravers were also hurt, including a 22-year-old man who lost a hand.