Roundup: More COVID-19 cases reported in Asia-Pacific, Japan says to postpone Tokyo Olympics over pandemic
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E-mail Xinhua, March 24, 2020
HONG KONG, March 24 (Xinhua) -- As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Asia-Pacific continues to rise, Olympics host Japan agreed to delay the 2020 Tokyo Games until next year over the pandemic.
JAPAN
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach have agreed to postpone the Tokyo Olympics until no later than the summer of 2021, Abe said Tuesday.
Summer 2021 is the latest that these Olympics could be held, Abe said.
Abe also said the IOC is likely to hold an extraordinary meeting to discuss the postponement of the Tokyo Games.
On Tuesday, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Japan stood at 1,172, with 32 new cases.
Meanwhile, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said that its travel ban will be extended to cover foreign travelers from 18 European countries and Iran in an effort to curb the spread of the global coronavirus pandemic.
The countries that will fall under the latest ban are Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Iran, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and the Vatican.
The foreign ministry said that foreign travelers who have visited any of these countries within 14 days of their arrival in Japan will be refused entry.
LAOS
Laos has detected first two confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country, the Lao Health Ministry reported Tuesday.
The two confirmed cases, both Lao nationals, are likely to be imported, and their close contacts have been quarantined, according to Lao officials.
The Lao medical institutions have tested 131 suspected cases so far.
SOUTH KOREA
South Korea reported 76 more cases of COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of midnight Tuesday local time, raising the total number of infections to 9,037.
Of the new cases, 20 were imported from abroad.
Nine more deaths were confirmed, lifting the death toll to 120.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Tuesday that the government will double the size of emergency corporate funding package to 100 trillion won (80 billion U.S. dollars) to help companies surmount the temporary liquidity shortage coming from the COVID-19 outbreak.
Under the expanded package, 29.1 trillion won (23.2 billion U.S. dollars) worth of emergency funds will be provided for small firms in order to help them maintain business operations.
To stabilize the corporate debt market worried to fall into credit crunch, 20 trillion won (15.9 billion U.S. dollars) of the bond market stabilization fund will be created for the purchase of corporate bonds and commercial papers. It was double the size created during the 2008 global financial crisis.
AUSTRALIA
As of 3:00 p.m. local time Tuesday, there have been 2,136 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia, 427 more from 24 hours ago.
In a bid to curb the virus, Australia has passed a 84-billion-Australian-dollar (49-billion-U.S.-dollar) economic stimulus package, which has been regarded as the "most significant" economic support since war.
The Opposition Labor Party joined forces with the governing Coalition to pass the two packages, which are worth 17.6 billion Australian dollars (10.2 billion U.S. dollars) and 66 billion dollars (38.5 billion U.S. dollars) respectively.
Under the stimulus measures, eligible small and medium sized businesses, and not-for-profits (including charities) that employ people, will receive payments of up to 100,000 Australian dollars (58,385 U.S. dollars) in an attempt to prevent losses.
Meanwhile, as COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, Australia's Defence Minister Linda Reynolds has announced that all non-essential ADF members would be temporarily called back to the country's main base in the Middle East and some withdrawn to Australia.
MALAYSIA
In Malaysia, a total of 15 people have died of the COVID-19 as of Tuesday, and 106 newly confirmed cases were reported, taking the total to 1,624, according to the Health Ministry.
Out of the total cases as of Tuesday, 183 have been cured and discharged from hospital, while 64 are currently being held in intensive care and 27 of those are in need of assisted breathing.
THAILAND
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha announced on Tuesday that the government will issue an emergency decree, which will be effective from Thursday, to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Given the emergency rule, the government is setting up ad hoc committees to steer the stringent measures against the COVID-19 pandemic, and the emergency decree will empower authorities to impose curfews, ban travels, and close down buildings without warrants.
A total of 106 new cases of COVID-19 infection were reported in Thailand, making a total of 827, including four fatalities.
THE PHILIPPINES
The Philippines recorded 90 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of the cases to 552, according to the country's Department of Health.
A total of 35 people have died from the virus while 20 have recovered.
"Expect the number of cases to rise in the coming days as more testing kits are available now and we have more laboratories that can process the specimens," health official said at a virtual press conference.
INDIA
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in India rose to 492.
Of these, 451 cases are Indian nationals and 41 foreign nationals.
According to ministry officials, so far nine deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported and 37 people have been discharged from hospitals.
The government has announced the suspension of domestic flights from Wednesday, and the restrictions shall not apply to solely cargo carrying flights.
PAKISTAN
In Pakistan, all markets and shopping malls except grocery shops and medical stores will remain closed in Punjab during the two-week lockdown period from March 24 to April 6 after the number of infections rose above 800.
The military has also been called in across the country by the interior ministry to assist the government implementing the rule of law in policies adopted by the authorities to curb the further spread of the pandemic.
INDONESIA
The total number of deaths in Indonesia has reached 55, and 686 cases were confirmed.
The government has turned former apartment towers into an emergency hospital, which started operation on Monday, with a capacity to treat as many as 24,000 patients.
The Sebaru island on the Java Sea in the northern part of Jakarta and the Galang island in the Riau Islands, will be used to quarantine and observe people infected with the virus starting on March 28.
BANGLADESH
The Bangladeshi government on Tuesday reported the fourth death in the country in addition to six more confirmed cases, bringing the total to 39.
Bangladesh has declared a public holiday from March 26 to April 4 following the rise of COVID-19 positive cases in the country.
Army would be deployed to assist local administration as all the government and the private offices in the country will be closed during that time.
Meanwhile, the government has cancelled passenger trains as the country strives to prevent the COVID-19 from spreading locally.
SRI LANKA
Sri Lanka's Health Ministry confirmed that the number of COVID-19 infections had hit the 100 mark as 9 new patients were identified during the day.
Sri Lankan authorities on Tuesday declared three districts including capital Colombo as "high risk" areas due to the rapid spread of COVID-19 and imposed an indefinite curfew there, a statement from the President's Office said.
As a result of the curfew, essential items including medicines will be delivered to people's doorsteps as the public had been banned from leaving their homes until further notice.
BRUNEI
Brunei reported 13 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the country's total to 104 cases.
Brunei government said it will launch a real-time cellphone application on Tuesday night, allowing users to track the number of COVID-19 cases in the country and alert authorities if they develop symptoms through self-screening tools.
NEPAL
Nepal decided to enforce a national lockdown for a week, starting from 6:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday to 6:00 a.m. local time on March 31, halting the movement of people along with vehicles and airplanes to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Likewise, the Nepali government has also suspended all domestic flights except those approved by the government and the flights conducted by security agencies during the period.
AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan's Public Health Ministry on Tuesday reported two more confirmed cases, bringing the total to 42.
The western Herat province bordering Iran has emerged as the COVID-19 outbreak epicenter in Afghanistan, as thousands of Afghan refugees return home every day from the neighboring country to escape the disease.
FIJI
Fiji confirmed the fourth case of COVID-19.
Fiji Airways, Fiji's national carrier, said on Tuesday that it will no longer operate any further Singapore and Hong Kong flights after Singapore and China's Hong Kong sharpened their border restrictions.
MYANMAR
Myanmar's Foreign Affairs Ministry required all Myanmar nationals returning from abroad to undergo quarantine for 14 days, which will come into effect on Wednesday as part of measures to curb the COVID-19 spread.
Myanmar confirmed first two COVID-19 cased in Chin state and Yangon region late Monday.
All diplomats accredited to Myanmar and UN officials working in Myanmar will also be under home quarantine for 14 days on their arrival in Myanmar and are asked to present lab evidence of absence of COVID-19 infection issued no more than 72 hours prior to the date of travel. Enditem
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