A girl wearing a face mask has her temperature checked as she arrives for her flight at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Pasay City, the Philippines on March 27, 2020.(Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)
-- Philippines confirms 272 new cases, seeing the biggest rise in single day, 1,075 in total.
-- Malaysia confirms 159 new cases, 2,320 in total.
-- Indonesia reports 102 deaths related to the virus, 1,155 cases of infection in total.
-- Tokyo confirms 60 new cases, logging the highest rise per day.
HONG KONG, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The following is the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia-Pacific countries.
MANILA -- The number of COVID-19 cases in Philippines has exceeded 1,000, with 272 new cases reported on Saturday, the biggest rise in a single day.
The Department of Health said the country's total is now at 1,075, with 68 recorded deaths and 35 recovered patients as of 4:00 p.m. local time March 28.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said late Friday night that an inter-agency group enforcing a lockdown on the main island of Luzon, including Metro Manila, has directed the local government units and departments "to identity government facilities that may be temporarily converted into isolation or quarantine facilities" for COVID-19 cases.
A Malaysian soldier assists the police to strengthen the enforcement of "movement control order" to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, in Putrajaya, Malaysia, March 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Chong Voon Chung)
KUALA LUMPUR -- A total of 27 people have died of the COVID-19 in Malaysia as of Saturday with 159 newly confirmed cases, bringing the total to 2,320, said the Health Ministry.
Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said at a press briefing that among the infected patients, 320 have been cured after 61 were discharged on Saturday.
People try disinfection chamber placed in public areas to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Jakarta, Indonesia, March 24, 2020.(Xinhua/Zulkarnain)
JAKARTA -- The COVID-19 death toll in Indonesia surpassed 100 by noon local time on Saturday, according to the Indonesian government.
At a press conference, the government's spokesperson for the all coronavirus-related matters Achmad Yurianto said that a total of 102 people have died of the COVID-19, and 1,155 cases were confirmed in the archipelagic country.
Visitors are seen in the crowd in Asakusa in Tokyo, Japan, March 25, 2020. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)
TOKYO -- Japan's health ministry and local governments said Saturday that more than 60 new COVID-19 infections were confirmed in Tokyo, logging the highest rise per day.
The total number of infections in Japan has now risen to 1,585 cases, according to the latest figures.
The death toll in Japan from the pneumonia-causing virus currently stands at a total of 63 people, including 10 from the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship.
Of the COVID-19 infections in Japan, the majority are still in Japan's capital city of Tokyo, which has confirmed more than 349 cases.
A police officer stands guard ahead of the 18th Shangri-La Dialogue held at Singapore's Shangri-La Hotel on May 31, 2019. (Xinhua/Then Chih Wey)
SINGAPORE -- The London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said early Saturday that after close consultation with the Singaporean government, they have decided not to convene the 2020 Shangri-La Dialogue in light of the serious challenges posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic.
It would be "a significant challenge" to hold the Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) in early June in view of the COVID-19 outbreak, Singapore Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said in a Facebook post Saturday.
The annual SLD is held in Singapore in late May or early June.
An airplane of Singapore Airlines parks on the tarmac of Singapore's Changi Airport on March 23, 2020. Singapore Airlines announced on Monday that it would cut 96 percent of its capacity till the end of April. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua)
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN -- Brunei reported the first death case from COVID-19 in the country, the Ministry of Health said on Saturday.
According to the health ministry, the deceased was a 64-year-old man who returned to Brunei from Malaysia and Cambodia on March 4.
Aerial Photo taken on March 17, 2020 shows the CC4 section of Brunei's Temburong Bridge in Temburong District. (Xinhua)
WELLINGTON -- Air New Zealand said on Saturday that eight crew members have tested positive for COVID-19.
The eight confirmed cases are among the 451 confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand.
A spokesperson from Air New Zealand said all eight employees work on the company's long-haul fleet and operated sectors to Los Angeles or London.
Photo taken on March 26, 2020 shows an empty street in Wellington, New Zealand. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)
SEOUL -- South Korea reported 146 more cases of the COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of midnight Saturday local time, raising the total number of infections to 9,478.
Five more deaths were confirmed, lifting the death toll to 144. The total fatality rate came in at 1.52 percent.
A staff member introduces the work process of the screening clinic to a woman in Seoul, South Korea, March 26, 2020. (NEWSIS/Handout via Xinhua) ■
