People queue up to have a test for COVID-19 at a hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on May 3, 2020. (Str/Xinhua)
-- Bangladesh reports highest daily rise of 786 COVID-19 cases;
-- The Philippines reports 199 new COVID-19 cases, total at 9,684;
-- COVID-19 cases in Indonesia surpass 12,000;
-- Afghanistan's COVID-19 positive cases rise to 3,224.
HONG KONG, May 5 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia-Pacific countries.
DHAKA -- Bangladesh confirmed 786 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, the highest daily rise since the start of the pandemic in the country on March 8, bringing the total to nearly 11,000.
Nasima Sultana, a senior Health Ministry official, told an online press conference that "786 new COVID-19 positive cases and death of a youth were reported in the last 24 hours across Bangladesh."
"The total number of positive cases is now 10,929 and the death toll stands currently at 183," she added.
A worker delivers food during Labor Day in Makati, the Philippines, on May 1, 2020. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)
MANILA -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines rose by 199 on Tuesday to a total of 9,684 cases of infections.
The Department of Health (DOH) reported 14 new deaths. The country's COVID-19 death toll now has reached 637.
The DOH said 173, or 87 percent of the daily cases, were reported in Metro Manila, one case, or 0.5 percent, from the Central Visayas region in the central Philippines, while 25 or 12.5 percent from other parts of the country.
People ride a boat at Petuk Ketimpun village in Palangka Raya, Indonesia, May 4, 2020. (Photo by Deny Krisbiantoro/Xinhua)
JAKARTA -- The Indonesian government on Tuesday announced 484 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the archipelagic country to 12,071.
There are also eight new deaths, taking the total number of fatalities to 872, the government's spokesperson for the COVID-19-related matters Achmad Yurianto said at a press conference.
An Afghan policeman distributes leaflet containing tips for COVID-19 pandemic in Mazar-i-Sharif, capital of Balkh province, Afghanistan, May 3, 2020. (Photo by Kawa Basharat/Xinhua)
KABUL -- The number of COVID-19 positive cases in Afghanistan has risen to 3,224 as 320 new positive cases have been registered over the past 24 hours, Public Health Ministry spokesman Wahidullah Mayar said Tuesday.
Mayar also said that five patients have died due to COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the number of COVID-19 related deaths to 95 since the outbreak of the disease in February.
People walk on a beach in Wellington, New Zealand, April 28, 2020. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)
WELLINGTON -- New Zealand and Australia were committed to introducing a trans-Tasman COVID-safe travel zone as soon as it was safe to do so, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her Australian counterpart Scott Morrison said on Tuesday.
The prime ministers agreed to commence work on a trans-Tasman COVID-safe travel zone - easing travel restrictions between Australia and New Zealand. Such an arrangement would be put in place once it was safe to do so and necessary health, transport and other protocols had been developed and met to ensure the protection of public health, said a statement released by the New Zealand government.
This arrangement recognized that Australia and New Zealand were both successfully addressing the spread of COVID-19. Any arrangement would need to take into account state and territory movement restrictions, it said.
New Zealand reported no new COVID-19 case over the past 24 hours for two consecutive days, which was "very encouraging", Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said on Tuesday.
New Zealand announced Tuesday that the State of National Emergency to support the COVID-19 response will be extended for a sixth time, for a further seven days.
A man receives temperature check at a free food distribution point in Bangkok, Thailand, April 22, 2020. (Photo by Rachen Sageamsak/Xinhua)
BANGKOK -- Tuesday saw for the first time in Thailand to report only one new case of COVID-19, since the outbreak of the virus since January, with no new fatalities.
The total number of cases now stand at 2,988, with seven more recoveries, bringing the total to 2,747, while the death toll remains at 54.
A total of 187 are still being treated in hospitals.
Indian policemen on motorcycles pay tribute to doctors, nurses and police personnel who battle against COVID-19 pandemic in New Delhi, India, May 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Javed Dar)
NEW DELHI -- India's federal health ministry Tuesday morning said 179 new deaths due to COVID-19, besides fresh 3,597 positive cases, were reported since last evening in the country, taking the number of deaths to 1,568 and total cases to 46,433.
"As on 8:00 a.m. (local time) Tuesday, 1,568 deaths related to novel coronavirus have been recorded in the country," the ministry's statement said.
Photo taken with a cellphone shows people enjoying their weekend life near Hongik University in Seoul, South Korea, May 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang)
SEOUL -- South Korea reported three more cases of the COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of 0:00 a.m. Tuesday local time, raising the total number of infections to 10,804.
It was the lowest daily increase in 77 days since Feb. 18. The daily caseload hovered below 20 for 18 straight days.
All the new cases were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 1,102. The domestic infection logged zero for the second consecutive day.
Two more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 254. The total fatality rate stood at 2.35 percent.
Surfers walk into the water at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, on April 28, 2020. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)
CANBERRA -- The Australian government has committed 352 million Australian dollars (about 226 million U.S. dollars) towards the global effort to fight COVID-19 and to find a vaccine.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison pledged the funding in a video message to the Coronavirus Global Response International Pledging Event on Monday night local time.
"We're very pleased to be part of this important event today, and I want to thank the European Commission for bringing us all together for this important purpose," Morrison said in his message.■
