Roundup: Bangladesh sees highest single-day hike of death toll, Japan, Laos relax restrictions

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Xinhua, May 21, 2020
Adjust font size:

HONG KONG, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Some Asian countries saw highest single-day hike of confirmed COVID-19 cases or deaths on Thursday, while Japan and Laos are relaxing restrictions.

Bangladesh saw the highest single-day hike of 22 deaths of COVID-19 patients.

According to the official, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased to 28,511, with the biggest daily rise of 1,773 cases reported in the last 24 hours as of 8:00 a.m. local time on Thursday.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has approved a 250 million U.S. dollars loan to Bangladesh as the country grapples with the fallout of COVID-19.

Indonesia's COVID-19 cases rose by 973 within one day to 20,162, Achmad Yurianto, a health ministry official, said at a press conference here on Thursday.

It was the first time that the daily record of cases in the country surpasses 900.

The death toll in Indonesia rose by 36 to 1,278, Yurianto said.

Afghan Ministry of Public Health reported 531 new positive cases of COVID-19 including 274 in capital Kabul over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of patients to 8,676 in the country, a spokesman for the ministry Tawhid Shakohmand said.

This was the highest daily increase since the outbreak in Afghanistan in February.

The Philippine health department on Thursday reported that 213 more people have contracted the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country to 13,434.

In a daily bulletin, the Department of Health said 68 more patients have recovered from the disease, bringing the number of recoveries to 3,000. It added that four more patients have died from the COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 846.

Malaysia reported 50 new COVID-19 cases, most of them from a new cluster in an immigration detention center on the outskirt of Kuala Lumpur, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said at a press briefing that the total cases in the country stood at 7,059.

India's federal health ministry Thursday morning reported 132 more deaths and 5,609 new COVID-19 cases since Wednesday, taking the number of deaths to 3,435 and total cases to 112,359.

Nepal reported a new death from COVID-19 as the number of deaths from the disease in the Himalayan country has risen to three.

As of Thursday morning, the Nepali government has confirmed 444 cases of COVID-19.

South Korea reported 12 more cases of the COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of 0:00 a.m. Thursday local time, raising the total number of infections to 11,122. The daily caseload fell below 20 after rising above 30 in the previous day. Of the new cases, two were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 1,191.

New Zealand reported no new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday for four consecutive days, with the combined total of confirmed and probable cases remaining at 1,503, according to the Ministry of Health.

The Northern Territory has become the third Australian jurisdiction to record zero active cases of COVID-19.

Michael Gunner, the Chief Minister of the NT, on Thursday announced that the territory is coronavirus-free after the last active case recovered from the virus.

The Japanese government on Thursday lifted a state of emergency in Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures in western Japan as the number of COVID-19 infections there has remained low.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters that the emergency measure may end in Tokyo and its three prefectural neighbors Chiba, Saitama, and Kanagawa as well as the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido as early as Monday after a fresh review by a government panel of health experts.

Domestic travel is now permitted in Laos for all people throughout the country, but prevention measures and guidelines must be strictly followed, Director General of Department of Transport under Lao Ministry of Public Works and Transport Bounta Onnavong told a press conference on Thursday.

The measures include arranging suitable seating for passengers with social distancing of at least one meter and everyone must have their body temperature checked.

Laos reported no new case of COVID-19 for 39 consecutive days, with the total number of confirmed cases remaining at 19, according to the report. Enditem

Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation.
ChinaNews App Download
Print E-mail Bookmark and Share

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)

No comments.

Add your comments...

  • User Name Required
  • Your Comment
  • Enter the words you see:   
    Racist, abusive and off-topic comments may be removed by the moderator.
Send your storiesGet more from China.org.cnMobileRSSNewsletter