Pedestrians wearing masks pass a suspended theatre in Tokyo, Japan, on March 6, 2020.(Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)
-- Japanese PM declares month-long state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka and five other prefectures to curb COVID-19 outbreak;
-- Australian gov't releases the modelling behind its response to the COVID-19;
-- Pakistan confirms 3,864 COVID-19 positive cases, 54 deaths;
-- Afghanistan confirms 56 new cases, 423 in total;
-- Cambodia closes massage parlors, health spas to curb COVID-19 spread.
HONG KONG, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia-Pacific countries.
TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday declared a month-long state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka and five other prefectures in an effort to curb the COVID-19 outbreak.
The declaration will come into effect on Wednesday. Specifically, it covers the capital and other major prefectures including Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka.
The declaration will give prefectural governors more power to take preventative measures to curb the continued spread of the virus, the cases of which have been steadily increasing, particularly in urban areas.
Photo taken on April 4, 2020 shows a notice of asking people to stay at home in Fairlight, Sydney, Australia.(Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)
CANBERRA -- The Australian government has released the modelling behind its response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy released the modelling on Tuesday afternoon following a four-hour meeting of the National Cabinet, which is comprised of Morrison and state and territory leaders.
A family stay on roof of their house during nationwide lockdown in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, April 4, 2020.(Xinhua/Sunil Sharma)
KATHMANDU -- Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Tuesday said that the coming two weeks will be more challenging for Nepal, as it is starting the rapid detection tests for the first time in order to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 infection.
In the televised live address from his official residence Baluwatar in Kathmandu, Oli said that though Nepal has recorded only nine positive cases till date, the coming days will be crucial to decide the scale of infection across the country.
A volunteer disinfects a mosque as a preventive measure against COVID-19 in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar on April 1, 2020. (Xinhua/Saeed Ahmad)
ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rose to 3,864 including 54 deaths, according to the data updated by the country's health ministry on Tuesday morning.
The statistics revealed that 577 new cases were reported during the last 24 hours, which is the highest figure recorded in a day since the country recorded its first two cases on Feb. 26.
People who are held up for lockdown wait to receive blankets from a non governmental organisation at an exhibition ground in Hyderabad, Telangana, April 5, 2020. (Xinhua/Stringer)
NEW DELHI -- India said on Tuesday that its stocks of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) were enough to meet the export commitments which the private companies had contracted in a bid to help countries badly affected by novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Staff members spray disinfectant along a street in Shiberghan city, capital of Jawzjan province, Afghanistan, April 5, 2020. (Xinhua/Mohammad Jan Aria)
KABUL -- A total of 56 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Afghanistan over the past 24 hours, bringing the number of the patients carrying the virus to 423, Public Health Ministry spokesman Wahidullah Mayar said on Tuesday.
According to the spokesman, out of the newly detected cases, 17 are in Herat, 12 in Kabul and the remaining are in other parts of the country.
People wearing masks are seen on a street in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, March 25, 2020.(Xinhua/Mao Pengfei)
PHNOM PENH -- Cambodia decided to temporarily close all massage parlors and health spas across the kingdom in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Tourism Minister Thong Khon said on Tuesday.
In a letter sent to governors of all cities and provinces, the minister asked them to take action to shut down all massage parlors and health spas from April 7 until a new notice.
Residents wearing face masks line up to enter a grocery store in Manila, the Philippines, April 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)
MANILA -- The Philippines' main island of Luzon will continue to be locked down until April 30 as the government continues to fight COVID-19 in the country, a Philippine official said on Tuesday.
A staff registers and checks the recreational vehicles (RV) in a RV parking lot in Auckland, New Zealand, March 27, 2020. (Xinhua)
WELLINGTON -- New Zealand reported 32 new confirmed and 22 new probable cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the total number of confirmed and probable infections to 1,160 in the country.
New Zealand Health Minister David Clark has apologized for breaching the country's COVID-19 lockdown rules after he drove to a faraway beach for a family outing and went to a public domain for a mountain bike ride.
A range of support is being rolled out across New Zealand to help people look after their mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, minister Clark said on Tuesday.
People are seen at a subway station in Taegu, South Korea, March 31, 2020. (NEWSIS/Handout via Xinhua)
SEOUL -- South Korea reported 47 more cases of the COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of midnight Tuesday local time, raising the total number of infections to 10,331.
The newly confirmed cases stayed below 50 for the second consecutive day. Of the total, 17 were imported cases.
A bride (C) prays on wedding ceremony during the COVID-19 outbreak at South Tangerang, Indonesia, April 4, 2020. (Photo by Agung Kuncahya B./Xinhua)
JAKARTA -- Indonesian Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto has approved the proposal of Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan on large-scale social distancing to prevent further spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
After that, the Jakarta administration can take any restrictive measures deemed necessary to prevent further spread of COVID-19, an official said on Tuesday.■