Asia-Pacific countries on high alert amid COVID-19 pandemic

Source: Xinhua| 2020-04-03 20:36:54|Editor: Yurou
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HONG KONG, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Asia-Pacific countries are on high alert Friday amid an increasing number of confirmed cases and deaths of COVID-19.

A total of 53 people have died of the COVID-19 in Malaysia with 217 newly confirmed cases, bringing the total to 3,333, the Health Ministry said on Friday.

It is the first time that Malaysia recorded more than 200 cases two days in a row. Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said at a press briefing that the increase of daily new cases is "expected", partly due to the "active case detection" strategy, especially in the high-risk areas.

Another 385 COVID-19 cases were recorded in the Philippines on Friday, bringing the total number to 3,018, while the country eyes mass testing of persons suspected of having COVID-19 from April 14.

The Department of Health on Friday said 136 patients have died from the highly infectious viral disease and 52 have recovered. "The sudden spike of deaths is attributed to the late reporting of previous deaths," the department added.

South Korea's reported cases of the COVID-19 topped 10,000 as of midnight Friday local time as 86 more cases were confirmed for the past 24 hours.

The number of infections totaled 10,062, and five more deaths were confirmed, lifting the death toll to 174.

The Indonesian government said on Friday that the death toll of the COVID-19 in the country climbed to 181 and the number of confirmed cases jumped to 1,986.

India's federal health ministry on Friday morning said the death toll of COVID-19 rose to 56 and the total number of confirmed cases reached 2,301.

On Thursday evening the number was 2,069 and the death toll was 53.

Singapore's Ministry of Health reported Friday 65 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the city state to 1,114. Earlier in the day, the country confirmed the fifth COVID-19 death, which involved a 86-year-old Singaporean woman.

Singapore will close most workplaces and schools will move to full home-based learning, amid stricter measures to minimise the COVID-19 spread, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday.

From next Tuesday, Singapore will close most workplaces, except for essential services like food establishments, markets and supermarkets, clinics, hospitals, utilities, transport and key banking services, he announced.

Key economic sectors will also remain open, such as those that form part of a global supply chain. People working in these industries can continue to go to work, with safe-distancing measures in place.

In addition, schools and institutes of higher learning will move to full home-based learning starting next Wednesday. All preschool and student care centres will also be closed, but will provide limited services for children of parents who have to continue working and are unable to make alternative care arrangements.

These heightened safe distancing measures will be in place for four weeks from April 7 to May 4.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Friday agreed to give 300,000 yen (2,800 U.S. dollars) in cash to each household whose income has fallen to a certain level owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The amount initially floated by the government was a cash handout of 200,000 yen to each household, but was increased by 100,000 yen with Abe agreeing that households required more substantial support amid such trying times.

The government will give the cash to households "as soon as possible", Abe said, adding that small and medium-sized businesses have also suffered hardships due to the pandemic.

Thailand's Ministry of Public Health on Friday reported 103 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 1,978, with four new deaths, raising the death toll to 19.

All hotels in Pattaya and elsewhere throughout Chonburi province in eastern Thailand have been ordered to temporarily close in a sustained effort to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

Popular resort island of Phuket will also close all its hotel services from Saturday until further notice.

Despite case rates are stabilizing in the badly hit state of New South Wales (NSW) on Friday, other states in Australia went ahead with tighter border restrictions to stop the spread of COVID-19.

For the first time in history, the largest state of Western Australia closed its borders to the rest of the country, taking effect from midnight on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the northeastern state of Queensland also tightened border restrictions with its neighbor below, NSW, denying entry to anyone without a valid reason.

Sri Lankan Police on Friday said over 10,000 people had been arrested from across the country for violating an islandwide curfew which has been in place since March 20.

The Maldives Police Force has issued warnings to 95 individuals who violated a curfew imposed by the Heath Protection Authority as a precaution against the COVID-19 pandemic, local media reported here Friday.

Maldives announced a partial curfew applicable to Greater Male between local time 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. that came into effect on Thursday.

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