A man wearing a face mask amid concerns over the spread of coronavirus walks under cherry blossoms as snow falls in Tokyo on March 29, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

SYDNEY / JERUSALEM / MUSCAT / BAGHDAD / RAMALLAH / RIYADH / TEHRAN / AMMAN / ANKARA / NEW DELHI / COLOMBO / ANGKOK / HANOI / TOKYO / SEOUL / KUALA LUMPUR / JAKARTA / PHNOM PENH  / KABUL / DHAKA / VIENTIANE —  Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday the government was expanding a ban on the entry of non-Japanese people to cover 73 countries as policymakers try to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

Japanese nationals returning from the listed countries and regions will be asked to undergo virus tests, and all incoming travelers will be requested to self-quarantine and refrain from using public transportation for 14 days. 

Abe on Wednesday said that the nation is not yet at a point where it is necessary to declare a state of emergency, although he told an upper house committee meeting on the matter that a decision would be made based on prioritizing people's lives and the health of the public.

Japan's health ministry and local governments said that 2,362 people have been infected with the COVID-19 virus in Japan as of 6:30 pm local time on Wednesday, with 66 new cases recorded in Tokyo, adding to pressure on the government to take further measures to curb the domestic spread of the virus.

The death toll in Japan from the pneumonia-causing virus currently stands at 78, with the figure including those from the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama, close to Tokyo.

Australia

Australia’s retailers are putting limits on purchases of alcohol as hoarders turn their attention from toilet paper and other household essentials to drink amid a widespread shutdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Supermarket giants Woolworths Group Ltd, Coles Group Ltd and others agreed this week to limit sales for each shopper after social distancing measures to keep people home resulted in spikes in drink purchases.

In Australia, where government figures show one in six adults drinks more than the recommended daily maximum, pubs and bars were closed last week under a shutdown intended to keep people apart and slow the spread of an illness that has infected nearly 5,000 Australians and led to 21 deaths.

The new rationing is not stingy by most people’s standards: each person may buy daily up to two cases of 24 beers each or pre-mixed drinks, a case of 12 bottles of wine, or two bottles of spirits, with a limit of two product categories.

The limits do not apply in the state of Western Australia, where the government imposed its own limit on alcohol purchases, citing health concerns and hopes of curbing alcohol-fuelled violence.

Australian authorities opened a pop-up coronavirus testing clinic at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Wednesday, as the country’s central bank warned the economic fallout from the pandemic could last for more than a year.

Officials have stressed the need for continuing strict social distancing measures despite the slowdown, including restricting the number of people meeting in public to just two and the closure of parks, beaches and gyms.

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Bondi is one of those places where we are seeing local transmission, and we have seen cases among backpackers in recent days

Jeremy McAnulty, Health director, New South Wales  

 “Bondi is one of those places where we are seeing local transmission, and we have seen cases among backpackers in recent days,” NSW Health director Jeremy McAnulty said in Sydney on Wednesday.

Australia is pushing foreign-flagged cruise ships to leave its territorial waters amid the coronavirus pandemic, walking a diplomatic tightrope as it also tries to bring home citizens trapped on ships abroad.

In the wake of that incident and amid fears cruise ships were essentially super carriers of the virus, the federal government barred them from docking at Australian port, except in emergencies.

People look out over an empty Bondi Beach after authorities closed Sydney's most popular beach on March 22, 2020. (PETER PARKS / AFP)

New Zealand

New Zealand on Wednesday reported 61 new cases of the coronavirus, but said it was too early to assess if the lower number of cases this week meant the nationwide lockdown measures were working.

The country was placed into a complete lockdown last Thursday, and a national emergency was declared, to beat the local transmission of COVID-19.

 “While on the face of it that might seem a heartening number relative to some of the other figures we have had now, I want to emphasize it’s too early to assess if our measures are successfully slowing COVID-19,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a news conference.

Among all the confirmed cases, 82 people have recovered, and so far only one death has been recorded.

Ardern has said she wants to see more testing as it was needed to stamp out the virus and guard against community transmission.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson told a parliamentary committee earlier in the day that he expected a quantum economic shock from COVID-19 that would be greater than the global financial crisis.

He said the treasury department was expecting unemployment rates to likely be worse than that of the global financial crisis where it peaked at 6.7 percent. The treasury said initial projections show unemployment could increase from between 5 percent to well into double digits, while GDP reductions could be anywhere between 10-17 percent.

Israel

Around 1.5 million Israelis have downloaded a mobile app in the past week that alerts users who have crossed paths with a coronavirus patient, according to the Health Ministry, helping to improve tracking of the pandemic.

Israel reported a new death case from the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 21 with the national tally stands at 5,591.

The Israel Employment Service said the state's unemployment rate has jumped from 4 to 23.8 percent since the beginning of March due to the pandemic.

Israel has completed its largest bond issue ever, totaling US$5 billion to help the Israeli economy deal with the coronavirus crisis, the state's Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday.

The amount will help realize the 22.6-billion-dollar economic emergency aid program Israel announced on Monday.

Fiji

Fiji extended on Wednesday the lockdown in the island nation's second largest city of Lautoka until at least next Tuesday.

Palestine

Palestine Wednesday declared 15 new cases of COVID-19 in the West Bank, raising the total number of cases in Palestine to 134. 

On Tuesday, two more cases were confirmed in the Gaza Strip, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in the coastal enclave to 12.

Kuwait

Kuwait announced measures early on Wednesday aimed at shoring up its economy against the coronavirus pandemic, including soft long-term loans from local banks, and the central bank asked banks to ease loan repayments for companies affected.

Kuwait, which as of Aprial 1 had registered 317 coronavirus cases, was the first Gulf state to halt passenger flights and impose a partial curfew to stem the spread of the highly infectious respiratory illness.

The sectors most impacted by the pandemic include aviation, hospitality and real estate, a government source told Reuters.

The stimulus package approved by the cabinet aims to provide liquidity for small- and medium-sized enterprises to meet their obligations, a government spokesman said.

That includes directing government agencies to pay obligations to the private sector as soon as possible.

Kuwait is also dealing with the impact of lower oil prices on its finances that is expected to lead to a higher government fiscal deficit this year.

South Korea

South Korea has received requests from 121 countries for help with coronavirus testing, a foreign ministry official said on Wednesday, as authorities around the world come under intense pressure to curb the spread of the disease.

South Korea’s massive testing campaign, backed by intensive contact tracing, has been credited with helping slow the spread of coronavirus in the country.

South Korea reported 101 more cases of the COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of midnight Wednesday local time, raising the total number of infections to 9,887.

Three more deaths were confirmed, lifting the death toll to 165. The total fatality rate stood at 1.67 percent.

A total of 159 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 5,567.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated the data once a day at 10:00 am local time from March 10, after having announced it twice a day.

Iraq

The Iraqi authorities Tuesday decided to extend the nationwide curfew until April 19 to contain the spread of the coronavirus, according to Iraqi health minister.

On Tuesday, the Iraqi Health Ministry reported a total of 694 cases of COVID-19, of whom 50 have died and 170 others recovered.

To help Iraq cope with the coronavirus epidemic, a Chinese team of seven experts has been working with their Iraqi counterparts since March 7 in the fight against the viral respiratory disease.

Oman

The Omani Ministry of Health on Tuesday announced one death case of the novel coronavirus.

The death case is a 72-year-old Omani citizen, the ministry said in a statement.

Oman decided earlier Tuesday to deploy military and security services in the streets to reduce people's movement, as the country's total cases hit 192 so far.  

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia reported on Tuesday 110 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the kingdom's total confirmed cases to 1,563.

The kingdom's death toll hit 10 after two deaths were added, Health Ministry spokesman Mohammed Al-Abdulaali told a press conference.  

So far the kingdom has reported 50 cured cases, bringing the number of recoveries to 165.

Iran

 Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that the novel coronavirus infection has taken "downward trend" in the country, Tasnim news agency reported.

"All the provinces of Iran have witnessed a downward trend in the coronavirus infection cases recently," Rouhani was quoted as saying.

The Iranians on Wednesday cancelled Nature Day celebrations after the authorities advised people to avoid public gatherings over the novel coronavirus spread.

Rouhani on Tuesday announced the extension of social distancing plan for another week, state TV reported.

Iran’s death toll from the new coronavirus has reached 3,036, with 138 deaths in the past 24 hours, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur told state TV on Wednesday, adding that the country had 47,593 infected cases.

Brunei

Brunei reported two new cases of the COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the country's total to 131 cases.

According to Brunei's Ministry of Health, the 130th case arrived at Brunei from Kalimantan, Indonesia on March 16 while the 131st returned from the United States via Singapore on March 16.

Lebanon

Lebanon's COVID-19 cases Wednesday increased to 479 after 16 new cases were detected, while the death toll remained unchanged at 12, the National News Agency reported.

Lebanese hospitals have previously announced the number of infected people has been increasing slowly because the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) labs needed to test all suspected infections is not sufficiently available.

The Lebanese government has been trying to take tough measures to curb the spread of the virus, but citizens have not been very cooperative in some regions especially by the end of March when employees go to banks to get their salaries.

Jordan

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees on Tuesday launched an appeal for US$27 million to help prevent the spread of coronavirus in Jordan, especially among the refugees in the country.

The money will be used to maintain essential services such as hospitals and clinics, including those in refugee camps, purchase medical equipment, provide urgent cash assistance and step up life-saving protection interventions, the UN agency said in a statement.

More than 260 cases of novel coronavirus have been reported in Jordan and five deaths have been confirmed so far, according to official figures.

Turkey

Turkey will have to take additional measures if the coronavirus outbreak widens and citizens don’t abide by a “voluntary quarantine,” President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday.

Erdogan has stopped short of announcing a full lockdown across Turkey, mainly for economic reasons. He reiterated on Wednesday that Ankara was determined to continue production and exports.

Turkish health minister on Tuesday reported 2,704 additional novel coronavirus cases and 46 new deaths due to the infection.

The total number of diagnosed COVID-19 cases in Turkey has climbed to 13,531, while the death toll has reached 214, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted.

Turkey conducted a total of 15,422 tests in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of tests carried out to 92,403, the minister said.

India

The death toll from COVID-19 in India Wednesday morning rose to 38 as the number of confirmed cases in the country reached 1637, the federal health ministry said.

According to ministry officials, so far 133 people have been discharged from hospitals after showing improvement.

Tuesday marks the seventh straight day of ongoing 21-day lockdown across the country announced by the government to contain the spread of the pandemic. Authorities have imposed strict curfew-like restrictions to prevent the movement of people across the country.

All road, rail and air services have been suspended in wake of the lockdown, except essential services which are exempted.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka's total COVID-19 positive cases rose to 142 after 20 new cases were detected on Tuesday while two deaths have been reported to date, the Health Ministry said.

Out of this number, 17 patients recovered and were discharged while 123 are under observation in the designated hospitals across the country, the ministry said.

The cases detected on Tuesday were the highest number detected within a single day since the first local patient was detected on March 10, the ministry added.

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Thailand

Thailand's Ministry of Finance on Wednesday said the Treasury Department will release new coins and collect old ones for a thorough cleanup to help stem the spread of COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Bangkok city hall has ordered all parks, restaurants and stores to close from midnight to 5 am in its latest move to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Apart from late-night shutdown of businesses, all parks will be permanently closed starting from Thursday to April 30, according to Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Spokesman Pongsakorn Kwanmuang.

Thailand confirmed 120 new coronavirus cases and two more deaths on Wednesday, said a spokesman of the government’s Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration.

The new figures brought the total number of infections in the Southeast Asian country to 1,771 and 12 fatalities.

Vietnam

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed a decree on Wednesday to declare COVID-19 a nationwide epidemic in Vietnam, according to the government website.

The COVID-19 is spreading nationwide as it was classified as a Class A contagious disease, and defined as a group of "extremely dangerous infectious diseases that can transmit very rapidly and spread widely with high mortality rates", according to the prime minister.

All coaches, buses and taxis nationwide are suspended from Wednesday.

Vietnam's Ministry of Health on Wednesday night confirmed six new cases of the COVID-19 infection, bringing the total in the country to 218.

The six cases are all Vietnamese, including three people recently returning from abroad and three people related to Hanoi-based Bach Mai Hospital, which is in connection with a number of confirmed infection cases.

Singapore 

Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) on Wednesday reported 74 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 1,000.

Among the new cases, 20 are imported cases with recent travel history abroad and 54 are local cases who have no recent travel history abroad.

Of the 54 local cases, 25 are currently not linked.

Malaysia

The rate of new coronavirus infections in Malaysia appears to be slowing amid month-long curbs on movement, a senior health official said on Wednesday, citing research by a government-backed think tank.

Malaysia reported 142 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, taking the total to 2,908, the highest in Southeast Asia.

The health ministry said it has recorded a total of 45 deaths, with two reported on Wednesday.

Indonesia

Indonesia will by next week open a new coronavirus emergency hospital on the uninhabited island of Galang, where authorities have repurposed a former Vietnam war era refugee camp as part of efforts to rapidly augment healthcare capacities.

Indonesia has recorded 1,677 cases of coronavirus as of April 1, and 157 deaths - the highest mortality rate in Southeast Asia.

Yet some health experts and officials believe the true infection rate among Indonesia’s population of 260 million could be substantially higher, while official data from mid-March shows the country has only about 12 hospital beds per 10,000 people.

Located on one of a chain of islands off Sumatra and south of Singapore, the new hospital includes 360 additional hospital beds, isolation facilities and helipads, and will be used to treat coronavirus patients and as a quarantine facility.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said it would be open by next Monday at the latest.

Cambodia 

Two more COVID-19 patients in Cambodia have recovered, bringing the total number of patients cured in the kingdom to 25, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) on Wednesday.

Currently, the remaining 84 COVID-19 patients in the kingdom have been receiving treatment at various designated hospitals, it added.

Cambodia had so far tested 5,768 people for the virus, with 109 confirmed cases in total.

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Wednesday that he will donate his seven months' salary to fight the COVID-19.

In a letter sent to Economy and Finance Minister Aun Pornmoniroth and Health Minister Mam Bunheng, Hun Sen told Pornmoniroth to transfer his salary from March to September to the account of the National Committee for Combating the COVID-19.

Afghanistan

A total of 22 more positive cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Afghanistan, bringing the number of the patients affected with the virus in the country to 196 including four service members of the foreign forces, Public Health Ministry's spokesman Wahidullah Mayar said Wednesday.

Four COVID-19 affected patients have died in Afghanistan since the outbreak of the disease in February, three of them in Herat, the epicenter of the disease in the country, Mayar said.

To contain the spread of the disease, the government has put in quarantine the national capital Kabul city, the western Herat, Farah and the neighboring Nimroz along the border with Iran.

Bangladesh 

Bangladesh has extended the ongoing shutdown of offices and workplaces to April 11 to manage the spread of COVID-19, according to a circular issued  by the Public Administration Ministry Wednesday.

Bangladesh reported the sixth death from COVID-19 on Wednesday.

Three more cases were confirmed, bringing the total to 54, according to Health Minister Zahid Maleque.

Of the total 54 cases, 26 patients have recovered so far.

The Philippines

The Philippines recorded 227 new coronavirus cases and eight more deaths on Wednesday, the health ministry said.

The latest figures brought the total number of infections and deaths in the country to 2,311 and 96, respectively.

Laos

One more COVID-19 case has been confirmed in Laos, with its total number rising to 10, according to a Lao official.

The patient is treated in Mittaphab hospital and she is not in serious condition.

As of Wednesday, seven cases are treated in the designated hospital, the Mittaphab Hospital in Vientiane. Another three cases are treated in a local hospital in Luang Prabang province.

All of them are not in serious condition and the treatment is going well, said the Lao official.

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov has signed decrees removing the country's vice prime minister Altynai Omurbekova and health minister Kosmosbek Cholponbaev from office, the president's press service reported Wednesday.

According to the Health Ministry, at least 111 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been recorded in Kyrgyzstan so far.