Covid fears are mounting in APAC

China reported on Friday its highest daily count for new coronavirus cases in its current outbreak, fuelled by a surge in locally transmitted infections.

''China reported 124 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the mainland for Aug. 5, according to the National Health Commission. That's up from 85 a day earlier.

Of the new confirmed infections, 80 were locally transmitted, the health authority said, up from 62 local cases a day earlier.

The local cases were driven by a surge in infections in eastern Jiangsu province, which reported 61 new cases for Aug. 5, up from 40 a day earlier. The new infections were mainly in the city of Yangzhou,'' Reuters reported. 

In the last few weeks, Delta has been detected in at least 16 Chinese provinces and municipalities. Most cases are linked to Nanjing and many are unnerved that the virus has appeared in major cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan.

Meanwhile, New South Wales has recorded 291 new Covid cases in the past 24 hours and in New Zealand, there are concerns over a break out in new cases despite managed isolation in Auckland.

The Ministry of Health confirmed there were two Covid-19 positive patients in Auckland hospitals.

While the markets are fixated on central banks and key data to end the week, US Nonfarm Payrolls, the risks of the virus remain elevated.