A foreign worker waits to get medical check near the Toh Guan Dormitory in Singapore on April 8, 2020. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua)
-- COVID-19 cases in the Philippines, Indonesia surpass 6,000;
-- Singapore reports daily record of 942 new cases;
-- COVID-19 cases in Japan exceed 10,000;
-- Chinese medical team arrives in Malaysia.
HONG KONG, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia-Pacific countries.
SINGAPORE -- Singapore reported here 942 new cases of COVID-19 infection as of Saturday noon, the highest daily increase so far, the Ministry of Health said.
This increase brings the city state's total confirmed cases to 5,992.
Of the new cases, the vast majority are Work Permit holders residing in foreign worker dormitories, MOH said.
A man wearing spiderman costume holds placard displaying "stay home" on the road during the COVID-19 outbreak at Makassar, Indonesia, April 17, 2020. (Photo by M. Firmansyah/Xinhua)
JAKARTA -- The Indonesian government on Saturday announced 325 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the archipelagic country to 6,248.
At a press conference, the government's spokesperson for the COVID-19-related matters Achmad Yurianto said there are also 15 new deaths, taking the total number of fatalities to 535, the highest in Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, as many as 24 more people have been discharged from hospitals after their recoveries, taking the total number of recovered patients to 631.
Motorists line up at a COVID-19 community quarantine checkpoint in Las Pinas City, the Philippines, April 16, 2020. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)
MANILA -- The Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines reported on Saturday 209 new infections from COVID-19, bringing the total number of the coronavirus disease cases in the country to 6,087.
The DOH also reported that 10 additional COVID-19 patients have died, bringing the death toll to 397.
The DOH further said that 29 additional patients have recovered from the virus, bringing the total number of recoveries to 516.
Customers check out at a supermarket in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan, April 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)
TOKYO -- Japan's health ministry and local governments said Saturday that the number of COVID-19 infections nationwide had risen to 10,098 cases as of Saturday afternoon, as the country enters the first weekend since a state of emergency was expanded nationwide in a bid to stem the spread of the virus.
After the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Japan, the number of infected people increased to over 5,000 in three months on April 9. However, the number of cases doubled in just nine days.
Meanwhile, Tokyo confirmed 181 new cases of COVID-19 as of Saturday afternoon, local media reported, pushing the total number of COVID-19 cases to 2,975 in the Japanese capital.
A man wearing a face mask walks past a painted wall during lockdown in Islamabad, Pakistan on April 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)
ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's ministry of health here on Saturday expressed worries over the regular increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases after the positive cases rose to 7,481 with 143 deaths across the country, local media reported.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Zafar Mirza chaired a meeting of the Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority on Saturday and said the regular increase in the COVID-19 cases, especially during the month of April, has raised concerns for the government, Radio Pakistan reported.
According to the data released by the ministry on Saturday, the country has witnessed an increase of 5,442 positive cases during the first 17 days of April, which were 2,039 by the end of March.
Health staff enter a building under the enhanced movement control order in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, April 7, 2020. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua)
KUALA LUMPUR -- A team of medical experts sent by the Chinese government arrived at Malaysia on Saturday to help the country fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The eight-member expert team was received by Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Bai Tian and officials from Malaysia's Ministry of Health upon their arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
During the expert team's two-week stay in Malaysia, they will share experience and expertise on fighting COVID-19 with their Malaysian counterparts, which may help Malaysia's effort against the pandemic, said the Chinese ambassador.
A man sits inside a mosquito net at his temporary shelter set up on a rickshaw during the lockdown due to COVID-19, in New Delhi, India, April 17, 2020. (Xinhua/Javed Dar)
NEW DELHI -- As many as 21 Indian Navy (IN) personnel at "INS Angre", a shore establishment at Mumbai city in southwestern state of Maharashtra, have tested positive for COVID-19, confirmed a senior IN official in New Delhi to Xinhua on Saturday.
A statement issued by the IN said most of these personnel were "asymptomatic" and had been traced to a single sailor who had tested positive on April 7.
India's federal health ministry Saturday morning said the death toll due to COVID-19 in India rose to 480 and the total number of confirmed cases in the country reached 14,378.
People observe social distancing while entering a supermarket in Wellington, New Zealand, April 11, 2020. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)
WELLINGTON -- New Zealand reported 13 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday as the government is stepping up its support for health services.
According to a statement released Saturday afternoon by New Zealand Ministry of Health, the country recorded eight new confirmed and five new probable cases of COVID-19 overnight, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 1,422. Twenty people are currently being treated in hospital, including three people in ICU.
Medical experts from China and New Zealand have held a webinar for the first time to exchange experience and best practice on combating COVID-19.
A vendor wearing a mask waits for customers at a street market in Yangon, Myanmar, April 14, 2020. (Xinhua/U Aung)
YANGON -- Myanmar's Health and Sports Ministry announced confirmation of one more death from COVID-19 in early hours of Saturday, with 94 cases in total across the country so far.
An elderly aged 78 with underlying hypertension and diabetes tested positive on Friday and passed away early Saturday after being treated at Intensive Care Unit of Waibargi Hospital, Yangon.
Faculty members put stickers onto desks to remind students of keeping a two-meter social distance at the Jukjeon Campus of Dankook University in Yongin of Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, April 7, 2020. (NEWSIS/Handout via Xinhua)
SEOUL -- South Korea reported 18 more cases of the COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of midnight Saturday local time, raising the total number of infections to 10,653.
The daily caseload fell below 20 for the first time in about two months, hovering below 30 for the sixth consecutive day. Of the new cases, nine were imported from overseas, raising the combined number to 993.■
