A health worker wearing a personal protective equipment disinfects the swabbing booth inside a COVID-19 mass testing center in Quezon City, the Philippines, on April 14, 2020. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)
-- The Philippines reports 207 new COVID-19 cases, tally at 5,660;
-- Japan to declare nationwide state of emergency;
-- Health experts call for close attention to possible airborne COVID-19 transmission;
-- Pakistan's confirmed COVID-19 cases rise to 6,505 with 124 deaths.
HONG KONG, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia-Pacific countries.
MANILA -- The Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines reported on Thursday 207 new infections from COVID-19, bringing the total number of the coronavirus cases in the country to 5,660.
The number of patients who have recovered from COVID-19 in the Philippines surpassed the death toll for the second day in a row on Thursday after the DOH reported a record-high 82 more recoveries and 13 new fatalities.
The total number of recoveries now stands at 435 while deaths rise to 362.
Philippine Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Thursday that the Philippines "stands committed" to the World Health Organization (WHO), lauding the UN body's leadership in the global fight to combat COVID-19.
"We support the WHO. As far as the Philippines is concerned we stand committed to the WHO and we will give our contribution when the need arises," Roque said in a virtual briefing.
Few visitors are seen at the famous sightseeing spot Asakusa, in Tokyo, Japan, April 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)
TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe has decided to declare a nationwide state of emergency over the COVID-19 pandemic to combat the further spread of the virus as cases of infections continue to rise, public broadcaster NHK said Thursday.
The planned move comes as the number and pace of cases continue to increase across Japan with confirmed new COVID-19 infections rising by 188 nationwide, including 149 cases in Tokyo, according to health ministry and local authorities as of Thursday afternoon.
The national total of COVID-19 cases now stands at 8,910 with the death toll from the pneumonia-causing virus at a total of 194, including those from a cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama near Tokyo, the latest figures showed.
Photo taken on April 15, 2020 shows an electronic screen showing "Thank you nurses" in Sydney, Australia. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)
SYDNEY -- Researchers from Australia and China released a joint paper on Environment International on Thursday, arguing that the airborne transmission of the disease was underestimated.
Professor Lidia Morawska from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia and Professor Junji Cao from the Chinese Academy of Sciences said that with evidence of COVID-19 airborne transmission mounting, public health governing bodies should be paying close attention.
A worker disinfects a street as a preventive measure against COVID-19 in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar on April 12, 2020. (Photo by Umar Qayyum/Xinhua)
ISLAMABAD -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has risen to 6,505 with 124 deaths in Pakistan, according to the data updated by the country's health ministry on Thursday morning.
The data revealed that 17 patients died and 520 persons tested positive during the last 24 hours across the country. The eastern Punjab province is the most affected region of the country with a total of 3,217 positive cases followed by the southern Sindh province which has 1,668 confirmed cases.
Workers make face masks at a factory in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, April 14, 2020. (Xinhua/Rahmatullah Alizadah)
KABUL -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Afghanistan has reached 840 as of Thursday morning with 56 new cases reported within the last 24 hours, a public health official said Thursday.
Providing the daily updates, the official added that one patient had died in Kabul during the period, bringing to 30 the confirmed death toll in Afghanistan.
A farm laborer wearing a mask harvests wheat during a lockdown against the COVID-19 in Jalandhar district of India's northern state of Punjab, April 15, 2020. (Str/Xinhua)
NEW DELHI -- India has strongly reacted to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom's (USCIRF) claim that COVID-19 patients were being segregated at a hospital in the country on religion lines.
In a written statement issued late Wednesday night, Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Anurag Srivastava said the U.S. organization must stop adding religious colour to India's national goal of fighting the pandemic and distract from larger efforts.
He was reacting to a USCIRF's tweet which claimed the practice of segregation of COVID-19 patients on religious lines at a hospital in west India's state of Gujarat.
India's federal health ministry said Thursday morning that the death toll due to COVID-19 in India rose to 414 and the total number of confirmed cases reached 12,380.
This is a jump of 22 deaths and an increase of 447 cases since Wednesday evening.
A vendor wearing a mask sells vegetables at a street market in Yangon, Myanmar, April 14, 2020. (Xinhua/U Aung)
YANGON -- The number of COVID-19 infections has surged to 85, with 11 more new confirmed cases reported on Thursday, according to a statement from the Health and Sports Ministry.
Of the newly confirmed cases, nine are from Yangon region while one each from Mandalay region and Chin state.
Children walk past a basketball court at a primary school in South Gyeongsang province, South Korea, March 31, 2020. (NEWSIS/Handout via Xinhua)
SEOUL -- South Korea reported 22 more cases of the COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of midnight Thursday local time, raising the total number of infections to 10,613.
The daily caseload hovered below 50 for the eighth straight day. Of the new cases, 11 were imported from overseas, raising the combined number to 967.
Four more deaths were confirmed, lifting the death toll to 229. The total fatality rate came in at 2.16 percent.■
