Photo taken on March 29, 2020 shows a rail coach modified into quarantine isolation units at a railway station in New Delhi, India. (Xinhua/Javed Dar)
-- Asia's largest slum in India reports 1st death from COVID-19
-- Indonesia's death toll rises to 170, total cases to 1,790
-- Thailand imposes nationwide curfew
-- Sri Lanka receives Chinese medical supplies
HONG KONG, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia-Pacific countries.
MUMBAI -- First casualty from COVID-19 in Asia's largest slum located in India's financial capital of Mumbai was reported night Wednesday, within a few hours of detecting it as a positive confirmed case, according to local media.
The 56-year-old patient, who died at the Mumbai civic hospital, had no foreign travel history and used to run a local garment retail outlet, said media reports quoting health department official.
A woman walks on the sidewalk of Sudirman street in Jakarta, Indonesia, on April 1, 2020. (Xinhua/Veri Sanovri)
JAKARTA -- The Indonesian government said Thursday the death toll of the COVID-19 in the country climbed to 170, the highest in Southeast Asia.
At a press conference, the government's spokesperson for the COVID-19 Achmad Yurianto said the number of confirmed cases jumped to 1,790 and 112 patients recovered.
A worker walks past the closed area where the home appliance stock has been transferred to on-line sale to lower novel coronavirus infection risk at a supermarket in Bangkok, Thailand, March 25, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Keren)
BANGKOK -- Thailand has imposed a nationwide curfew starting on Friday to prevent people from leaving home at night to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Thursday that the curfew is effective nationwide between 10.00 p.m. and 4.00 a.m. local time daily, beginning on Friday.
Thailand earlier declared emergency rule to contain the COVID-19 spread but the number of confirmed cases has been growing on daily basis, totaling 1,875 on Thursday.
A man carries bananas at a market in Colombo, Sri Lanka, March 26, 2020. (Photo by Ajith Perera/Xinhua)
COLOMBO -- China has handed over its first donation of humanitarian aid and medical supplies to Sri Lanka to strengthen the solidarity between the two countries as Sri Lanka fights the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka said on Thursday.
The aid, which includes 50,000 medical masks and 1,008 COVID-19 test kits, was handed over by Hu Wei, charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy, to Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo, and the materials were later handed over to Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi and her team at a formal ceremony held on Wednesday.
Photo taken on March 20, 2020 shows staff working at a drive-through coronavirus clinic at the Exhibition Park in Canberra, Australia. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)
CANBERRA/SYDNEY -- According to the Health Department of the Australian government, as of 3 p.m. Thursday, there have been 5,133 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia.
The number of deaths in Australia has increased to 24 after two women in their 60s and 70s respectively became the fifth and sixth people to die in Victoria on Thursday.
The country will spend 4.1 million Australian dollars (2.4 million U.S. dollars) on online courses for 20,000 nurses to prepare them for deployment in intensive care units.
It has also rolled out a plan to quickly add over 40,000 former health practitioners to join the frontline battle against COVID-19.
A volunteer disinfects a mosque as a preventive measure against COVID-19 in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar on April 1, 2020. (Photo by Saeed Ahmad/Xinhua)
ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan on Thursday resumed its international flight operations at a limited scale only for special flights subject to the prior permission from the Aviation Division.
Following the resumption, a flight of the Pakistan International Airlines carrying over 350 passengers of Canadian origin departed for Toronto from the Allama Iqbal International Airport in the eastern city of Lahore on Thursday. ■
