HONG KONG, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The following is the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia-Pacific countries on Saturday:
MANILA -- The number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines has exceeded 1,000, with 272 new cases reported on Saturday, the biggest rise in a single day.
The Department of Health said the country's total is now at 1,075, with 68 recorded deaths and 35 recovered patients as of 4:00 p.m. local time March 28.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said late Friday night that an inter-agency group enforcing a lockdown on the main island of Luzon, including Metro Manila, has directed the local government units and departments "to identity government facilities that may be temporarily converted into isolation or quarantine facilities" for COVID-19 cases.
KUALA LUMPUR -- A total of 27 people have died of COVID-19 in Malaysia as of Saturday with 159 newly confirmed cases, bringing the total to 2,320, said the Health Ministry.
Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said at a press briefing that among the infected patients, 320 have been cured after 61 were discharged on Saturday.
JAKARTA -- The COVID-19 death toll in Indonesia surpassed 100 by noon local time on Saturday, according to the Indonesian government.
At a press conference, the government's spokesperson for the all coronavirus-related matters Achmad Yurianto said that a total of 102 people have died of the COVID-19, and 1,155 cases were confirmed in the archipelagic country.
TOKYO -- Japan's health ministry and local governments said Saturday that more than 60 new COVID-19 infections were confirmed in Tokyo, logging the highest rise per day.
The total number of infections in Japan has now risen to 1,585 cases, according to the latest figures.
The death toll in Japan from the pneumonia-causing virus currently stands at a total of 63 people, including 10 from the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship.
Of the COVID-19 infections in Japan, the majority are still in Japan's capital city of Tokyo, which has confirmed more than 349 cases.
SINGAPORE -- The London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said early Saturday that after close consultation with the Singaporean government, they have decided not to convene the 2020 Shangri-La Dialogue in light of the serious challenges posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic.
It would be "a significant challenge" to hold the Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) in early June in view of the COVID-19 outbreak, Singapore Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said in a Facebook post Saturday.
The annual SLD is held in Singapore in late May or early June.
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN -- Brunei reported the first death case from COVID-19 in the country, the Ministry of Health said on Saturday.
According to the health ministry, the deceased was a 64-year-old man who returned to Brunei from Malaysia and Cambodia on March 4.
WELLINGTON -- Air New Zealand said on Saturday that eight crew members have tested positive for COVID-19.
The eight confirmed cases are among the 451 confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand.
A spokesperson from Air New Zealand said all eight employees work on the company's long-haul fleet and operated sectors to Los Angeles or London.
SEOUL -- South Korea reported 146 more cases of COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of midnight Saturday local time, raising the total number of infections to 9,478.
Five more deaths were confirmed, lifting the death toll to 144. The total fatality rate came in at 1.52 percent.
