BEIJING, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The world is now in a battle against COVID-19, a disease caused by a previously unknown coronavirus that has spread to over 200 countries and regions.
The following are the updates on the contagious illness.
ISLAMABAD -- An 8-member medical expert team organized by the Chinese government arrived here on Saturday to help Pakistan fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi welcomed the Chinese medical team at the Islamabad International Airport and thanked them for coming to Pakistan to help the country overcome the disease.
"I would like to thank the Chinese people, and the Chinese government...for going out of the way to support Pakistan and our effort to fight the COVID-19," he said.
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KUALA LUMPUR -- Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies must put an end to trade-restrictive policies to help fight COVID-19, the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) said on Saturday.
Such practices would hamper and delay recovery efforts if the engines of trade and investment could not be restarted quickly, Chair of ABAC Rohana Mahmood said in a statement released on Saturday.
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LAGOS -- One of Nigeria's largest financial institution, the United Bank for Africa (UBA), has announced a donation of 14 million U.S. dollars, to catalyze a comprehensive pan-African response to the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.
In a statement made available to Xinhua on Saturday, the bank's donation, which will be provided through UBA Foundation, will create significant and much-needed support to Nigeria and 19 other African countries, by supplying relief materials, critical care facilities, and financial support to governments.
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MEXICO CITY -- As the novel coronavirus is spreading across the world, Latin America, which is home to about 650 million people and where the infection cases are climbing, is doubling down on efforts to confront the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hardest-hit countries, including Brazil, Ecuador and Chile, have imposed blanket quarantine measures and night curfews, and shut down most businesses as the region's confirmed cases have exceeded 10,000 with over 160 fatalities, according to the latest figures from the Johns Hopkins University.
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PHNOM PENH -- Cambodia on Saturday decided to impose temporary entry restrictions for foreign travelers for one month in order to stem the spread of COVID-19, according to a foreign ministry's statement.
The measure will take effective from March 30 at midnight, the statement said.
It said the kingdom decided to suspend the issuance of tourist visa, e-visa and visa on arrival to any foreigner for a period of one month.
