Tourists enjoy the scenery of snow mountains by a touring car in Queenstown, New Zealand, July 16, 2020. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)
-- New Zealand reactivates strict lockdown after community transmission;
-- Cambodia suspends flights from the Philippines to curb COVID-19 spread;
-- Cases in the Philippines near 140,000 with 2,987 new cases;
-- Tokyo reports 188 new daily cases as city braces for holiday exodus;
-- India's total deaths cross 45,000 mark.
HONG KONG, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia-Pacific countries on Tuesday:
WELLINGTON -- New Zealand's largest city Auckland will move to COVID-19 Alert Level 3 from Wednesday for three days, with the rest of the country going to Level 2 after four cases of community transmission were confirmed.
After 102 days without community transmission in the country, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the lockdown decision in a late-night press conference.
A staff member takes the temperature of customers at the movie theater of a shopping mall in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Aug. 9, 2020. (Photo by Gao Bingnan/Xinhua)
PHNOM PENH -- Cambodia decided to temporarily suspend flights from the Philippines in a bid to prevent the spread of COVID-19, according to Health Minister Mam Bunheng.
Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said he had approved the suspension, which will take effect from Thursday, adding that the move was aimed at protecting the safety and well-being of the Cambodian people.
Cambodia confirmed 15 new imported COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 266, said a health ministry's statement.
A vendor wearing a face mask arranges eggs at his stand at a market in Manila, the Philippines on Aug. 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)
MANILA -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines surged to 139,538 after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 2,987 new daily cases on Tuesday.
The DOH said the number of recoveries further rose to 68,432 after it reported 280 more patients have survived the disease.
The death toll also increased to 2,312 after 19 more patients have succumbed to the viral disease, the DOH added.
People wearing face masks have their body temperature checked before entering the Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, July 24, 2020. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua)
KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia reported nine new COVID-19 infections, the Health Ministry said, bringing the national total to 9,103.
Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press statement that five cases are imported and four more are local transmissions.
A woman wearing face mask picks chilli covered with ash at her farm after Mount Sinabung eruption at Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Aug. 10, 2020. (Photo by Alberth Damanik/Xinhua)
JAKARTA -- The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 1,693 within one day to 128,776, with the death toll adding by 59 to 5,824 the Health Ministry said.
A woman and her child walk on a major thoroughfare in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Aug. 9, 2020. (Xinhua)
DHAKA -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Bangladesh reached 263,503 as nearly 3,000 new cases were confirmed in the last 24 hours.
Senior Health Ministry official Nasima Sultana said in a briefing Tuesday afternoon that "2,996 new COVID-19 positive cases and 33 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours across Bangladesh."
A passenger pushes a luggage cart after getting off the first flight into the country in months at the Velana International Airport in Male, the Maldives, July 15, 2020. (Xinhua)
MALE -- The Maldives government has banned locals from visiting tourist facilities in a bid to prevent the spread of COVID-19, local media reported.
The Ministry of Tourism has introduced new regulations that prohibit Maldivian nationals from visiting tourism facilities until further notice. The decision was taken in order to prevent the possible spread of imported COVID-19 cases to the local population.
People wearing face masks visit a commercial street in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan, June 21, 2020. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)
TOKYO -- The Tokyo metropolitan government confirmed 188 new daily COVID-19 cases, marking the second straight day infections have remained below the 200-mark.
The latest figure, however, compares with 197 cases recorded on Monday following Sunday's tally where cases surged to 331.
Policemen help clean a local market hit by torrential rain in Gurye county, South Jeolla province of South Korea, Aug. 9, 2020. (Photo by Lee Sang-ho/Xinhua)
SEOUL -- South Korea reported 34 more cases of the COVID-19 as of 0:00 a.m. Tuesday local time compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 14,660.
The daily caseload moved between 20 and 50 in recent days due to small cluster infections and imported cases.
Workers set up a care center converted from an indoor stadium as the numbers of COVID-19 cases rise in New Delhi, India, June 30, 2020. (Photo by Partha Sarkar/Xinhua)
NEW DELHI -- The total number of COVID-19 cases in India rose to 2,268,675 as the deaths crossed the 45,000 mark, reaching 45,257, according to data released by the federal health ministry.
Over the past 24 hours, 53,601 new cases were recorded across the country, as 871 deaths due to the virus were registered.
Former Indian president Pranab Mukherjee, who tested positive for COVID-19, continued to be on life support at a hospital after undergoing surgery to remove a clot in his brain, officials said.
CANBERRA -- The Chief Minister of Australia's Northern Territory (NT) Michael Gunner announced that the region's domestic borders will not be fully opened for at least another 18 months.
Under current restrictions, all travelers from Victoria and Sydney - where there is ongoing community transmission of COVID-19 - must complete two weeks of hotel quarantine at their own expense on arrival in the NT.@@(color:rgb(51,127,229);)@(color:rgb(51,127,229);)