Local residents enjoy the scenery of cherry blossom in Daegu, South Korea, April 2, 2020. (NEWSIS/Handout via Xinhua)
-- 51 S.Korean COVID-19 patients retest positive after recovery
-- Japan's Abe prepares to declare state of emergency over virus spread
-- Malaysia records highest single day COVID-19 recovery cases
-- Nearly 1,200 curfew breakers nabbed over last 3 nights in Thailand
HONG KONG, April 6 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia-Pacific countries.
SEOUL -- A total of 51 South Korean people tested positive again for COVID-19 after they had recovered and been discharged from quarantine, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said Monday.
The KCDC saw a higher possibility for the virus remaining in certain cells to be reactivated, rather than for people to be infected again, given that they retested positive in a relatively short period of time after being released from quarantine.
The patients here, who test negative twice with a 24-hour interval, are seen as having fully recovered and are allowed to be discharged from quarantine.
TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday said he has started preparations for declaring a state of emergency over the continued spread of COVID-19 in Japan.
A woman wearing a mask looks up to admire the cherry blossom by the street in Tokyo, Japan, March 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)
The declaration is likely to be issued on Tuesday and will take effective a day later, government officials said.
COVID-19 cases in the country have reached the 4,000 mark nationwide, with infections in Tokyo, Japan's epicenter of the virus, continuing to surge, according to the health ministry and local authorities' latest figures Monday.
KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia reported 236 cases recovered from COVID-19 on Monday, the highest in a single day since the outbreak, and 131 newly confirmed cases, bringing the total confirmed cases to 3,793.
Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said at a press briefing that among the infections, 1,241 have been cured and discharged from hospital, while 102 are currently being held in intensive care and 54 of those are in need of assisted breathing.
Photo taken on April 3, 2020 shows a corner of the Low Risk COVID-19 Quarantine & Treatment Centre at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) in Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua)
A total of 62 people have died of the COVID-19 in Malaysia in the country.
JAKARTA -- The total number of deaths of COVID-19 in Indonesia surpassed 200 on Monday, according to the Indonesian government.
At a press conference, the government's spokesperson for the COVID-19-related matters Achmad Yurianto said that a total of 209 people have died of the coronavirus, and 2,491 cases have been confirmed in the country.
He added that 192 patients have recovered from the disease.
Jakarta, home to some 10 million people, suffers the highest number of deaths totaling 99, followed by West Java 29, Central Java 22, Banten 17, East Java 14, and the rest recorded in other areas.
An almost empty street is seen in Bandung, Indonesia, April 3, 2020. (Photo by Septianjar/Xinhua)
DHAKA -- A total of 35 new cases of the COVID-19 were reported from the capital Dhaka and elsewhere in the country in the last 24 hours as of 8:00 a.m. local time Monday, Abul Kalam Azad, director general for Health Services in Bangladesh, told journalists here at a press conference.
He said Bangladesh's COVID-19 death toll spiked Monday to 12 as health officials confirmed three more fatalities Monday.
With the new cases reported in the last 24 hours, he said the number of cases also increased to 123 in the country's 15 out of 64 districts so far.
This is by far Bangladesh's biggest daily jump in positive cases over a 24-hour period since the country announced its first detection of the COVID-19 cases on March 8.
Photo taken on April 5, 2020 shows buses parked beside a road amid a public transport shutdown to contain the outbreak of COVID-19 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (Str/Xinhua)
BANGKOK -- Nearly 1,200 people have been arrested so far for violating curfew in Thailand, said a police general on Monday.
A total of 1,186 people have been arrested by authorities after they were spotted on the roads and at varied places over the last three nights during the six-hour curfew, beginning on Friday, according to National Police spokesman Pol. Lt. Gen. Piya Uthayo.
Those curfew breakers, found to have had no understandable reasons for remaining outside of their home, would be faced with legal actions in court under the current emergency rule, he said.
Policemen assemble for the curfew in Bangkok, Thailand, April 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)
SINGAPORE -- Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat on Monday announced the third set of support measures in a new budget, called the Solidarity Budget, to further support Singaporeans and businesses amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
The primary aim of this Solidarity Budget is to take further steps to save jobs and protect the livelihoods of Singaporean people during the temporary period of heightened measures that would begin on Tuesday, said Heng.
"We will also help businesses preserve their capacity and capabilities, to resume activities when the circuit breaker is lifted," he said.
Photo taken on April 3, 2020 shows social distancing markers outside ArtScience Museum in Singapore's Marina Bay Sands. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua)
CANBERRA -- The growth rate of Australia's coronavirus cases has fallen below 2 percent.
According to the Department of Health there had been 5,744 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia as of Monday morning, with an increase of only 109 cases, or 1.9 percent, from Sunday morning.
Photo taken on April 4, 2020 shows a notice of asking people to stay at home in Fairlight, Sydney, Australia. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)
South Australian researchers have begun trialling a potential vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. ■
