Asia-Pacific Countries Step Up Measures to Fight COVID-19
Asia-Pacific countries on Wednesday took stricter measures to fight COVID-19 as the number of confirmed cases kept rising.
SINGAPORE
Singapore confirmed 142 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, a new daily record, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in its daily update.
Of these, 140 are local cases and two are imported, bringing the total number of cases in the state to 1623 since the first case was reported on January 23.
Among the local cases, 55 are linked to existing clusters, of which 40 are linked to clusters at foreign worker dormitories. There are 13 cases that have been linked to other cases. Contact tracing is being done for the remaining 72 cases.
JAPAN
Japan’s health ministry and local governments said that 309 new daily COVID-19 infections were recorded nationwide as of 6:30pm on Wednesday, bringing the national total to 4768 cases, with Tokyo recording a new daily record of 144 cases.
The rise in cases across Japan and another significant spike in Tokyo, the epicentre of the nation’s pandemic, come on the heels of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declaring a state of emergency over the pandemic situation in Tokyo and other prefectures a day earlier.
The emergency declaration made on Tuesday covers the capital and other major prefectures, including Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka.
THE PHILIPPINES
The Department of Health of the Philippines on Wednesday reported 106 new coronavirus infections, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country to 3870. The health body said 96 patients have recovered and 182 died from the viral disease.
INDIA
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday held an all-party meeting with leaders of different political parties through video conferencing to discuss the COVID-19 situation.
Mr Modi described the situation in the country as being similar to a social emergency and hinted at extending the ongoing lockdown in the country.
MALAYSIA
The number of COVID-19 cases in Malaysia reached 4119 after 156 new cases were recorded, the Health Ministry, said on Wednesday. Health Ministry Director-General, Noor Hisham Abdullah, said at a press briefing that the country also recorded more patients being discharged among the infected in the past 24 hours, with 166 newly recovered cases added to a total of 1487 who have been cured and discharged from hospital.
BANGLADESH
The Bangladeshi government has confirmed three more deaths from
COVID-19, bringing the total number of fatalities in the country to 20, a senior health official said on Wednesday.
According to the official, Bangladesh has so far 218 confirmed
COVID-19 cases.
SRI LANKA MYANMAR
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, on Wednesday urged political parties and the public to co-operate with the government’s efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic which had so far infected over 180 people in the country.
A medical team from China arrived in the country on Wednesday to assist the Myanmar government’s ongoing efforts in the fight against COVID-19.
The 12-member Chinese medical team includes medical experts from several hospitals from Yunnan province in the fields of infectious control and prevention of respiratory and severe diseases, clinic treatment and laboratory testing.
INDONESIA
The Indonesian government said on Wednesday the death toll of the COVID-19 in the country climbed to 240.
At a press conference, the government’s spokesperson for the COVID-19, Achmad Yurianto, said that the number of confirmed cases jumped to 2956 and as many as 222 patients have recovered from the disease.
THAILAND
Thailand on Wednesday reported 111 new cases of COVID-19, with three fatalities who are all foreigners, the government said.
Total infections were up to 2,369, with the death toll at 30.
CAMBODIA
Cambodia on Wednesday confirmed a local couple were tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of the confirmed cases in the kingdom to 117.
Foreign Ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were to hold a meeting via a video conference yesterday to discuss a collective response to the rapid spread of COVID-19, said a Cambodian foreign ministry statement on Wednesday.
The ASEAN Coordinating Council meeting on COVID-19 via a video conference was initiated by Vietnam, the current chair of ASEAN, the statement said, adding that Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Prak Sokhonn, will take part in the meeting from Phnom Penh.
SOUTH KOREA
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Wednesday that his government will add about 56 trillion won (FJ$0.11tr) for an additional economic stimulus package to help prevail over the economic fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak across the world.
South Korea reported 53 more cases of COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of midnight on Wednesday local time, raising the total number of infections to 10,384.