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Thursday, April 02, 2020, 22:57
India PM plans staggered exit from vast coronavirus lockdown
By Agencies
Thursday, April 02, 2020, 22:57 By Agencies

Residents from City One condominium look out from their balcony as has been placed under a lockdown in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 31, 2020. (PHOTO / AP)

SYDNEY / JERUSALEM / TOKYO / DUBAI / MANILA / NEW DELHI / SINGAPORE - India will pull out of a three-week lockdown in phases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday, as officials battle to contain the country’s biggest cluster of coronavirus infections in the capital, New Delhi.

The shutdown, which has brought Asia’s third-largest economy to a shuddering halt, is due to end on April 14.

Modi had ordered India’s 1.3 billion people indoors to avert a massive outbreak of coronavirus infections, but the world’s biggest shutdown has left millions without jobs and forced migrant workers to flee to their villages for food and shelter.

He told state chief ministers that the shutdown had helped limit infections but that the situation remained far from satisfactory around the world and there could be a second wave.

“Prime minister said that it is important to formulate a common exit strategy to ensure staggered re-emergence of the population once lockdown ends,” the government quoted him as saying in a video conference.

Asia's largest slum located in India's financial capital of Mumbai has reported the first COVID-19 case, a 56-year-old person, on Wednesday evening.

Seven members of the person's family have been quarantined and the tests on them will be conducted on Thursday, said the spokesperson for the city's Municipal Corporation.

Meanwhile, officials raced to track down some 9,000 people exposed to the country’s biggest infection cluster during a Muslim missionary group’s gathering in the capital last month. 

The death toll due to COVID-19 in India Thursday morning rose to 50 as the number of confirmed cases in the country reached 1965, the federal health ministry said.

Singapore

Singapore on Thursday reported 49 more coronavirus cases, its Health Ministry said, taking the city-state’s total infections of the disease to 1,049.

The country suffered its fourth coronavirus-related death earlier on Thursday.

Malaysia

The number of coronavirus cases in Malaysia is expected to peak in mid-April and there are signs of a flattening of the infection curve, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.

Malaysia has the highest number of known infections in Southeast Asia and it has imposed travel and movement curbs to contain the spread of the virus.

“Based on available data, the WHO Country Office has projected that Malaysia will see a peak in hospitalised cases in mid-April,” Ying-Ru Lo, the WHO’s head of mission and representative to Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore told Reuters in emailed comments.

Malaysia reported 208 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, taking the total to 3,116. The Ministry Of Health recorded a total of 50 deaths, with five reported on Thursday.

The Philippine 

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has warned violators of coronavirus lockdown measures they could be shot for causing trouble and said abuse of medical workers was a serious crime that would not be tolerated.

In a televised address, Duterte said it was vital everyone cooperates and follows home quarantine measures, as authorities try to slow the contagion and spare the country’s fragile health system from being overwhelmed.

“It is getting worse. So once again I’m telling you the seriousness of the problem and that you must listen,” Duterte said late on Wednesday.

Separately, Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon Bernardita Catalla died from COVID-19 complications early on Thursday at a Lebanese hospital, the National News Agency reported.

The Philippines’ health ministry on Thursday recorded 11 new deaths and 322 additional cases from the coronavirus outbreak.

The latest figures bring the total death toll to 107 and infections to 2,633, Health Secretary Francisco Duque told a regular news conference, reiterating that people should stay home while the country’s main island of Luzon is under a month-long strict quarantine. 

Australia

Australian authorities on Thursday began putting time limits on the use of police to enforce restrictions on personal movement intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus, as more than a dozen cruise ships continued to linger in the waters off three Australian states, despite being directed by Australian Border Force (ABF) officials to leave.

Australian health authorities have said infection rates appear to have slowed in recent days but it is too early to say definitively.

Australian states have instructed police to issue fines of up to A$11,000 (US$6,672) to people who violate federal orders that ban non-essential travel and limit groups of people gathering outside to two.

Meanwhile, researchers from Australia's national science agency have begun testing vaccines for COVID-19.

According to the Health Department of the Australian government, as of 3 pm Thursday, there have been 5,133 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia with the toll stands at 24. 

Afghanistan

The Afghan authorities on Thursday confirmed 43 new COVID-19 cases, bringing to 239 the total number of patients in the country since the outbreak of the disease in mid February.

All the new cases were locally-transmitted ones as the patients did not have travel history abroad.

Over the weekend, the government began a 21-day lockdown in most of the big cities in a bid to contain the spread of the virus.

A man wearing a protective mask walks along an almost empty street during a community quarantine to help curb the spread of the new coronavirus in Manila, Philippines on April 1, 2020. (PHOTO / AP)

Fiji

Fiji announced on Thursday to lock down the capital city of Suva from early Friday morning following two more COVID-19 cases have been confirmed.

The first confirmed case of COVID-19 was found in Fiji's second largest city of Lautoka on March 19 and the city has been put on lockdown from the same day until next Tuesday.

READ MORE: Japan expands entry ban, self-quarantine must for all arrivals

Indonesia 

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Thursday the government is considering starting a new national holiday to prevent the annual mass exodus usually occurring at the end of the Muslim fasting month amid concerns over the spread of COVID-19. 

Widodo said at a cabinet meeting that measures could be put in place during the new holiday such as making tourist attractions free to help "bring some calm to the people".

Meanwhile, Indonesia plans to give special assistance to residents of Jakarta within two weeks to limit the exodus from the capital during the Ramadan holiday period amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the social affairs minister said on Thursday.

113 new coronavirus infections were reported on Thursday in Indoesnia, taking the total in the Southeast Asian country to 1,790, while the virus toll stands at 170 with 13 new deaths. 

Iran

Iran will double the number of daily COVID-19 tests in the coming days, a senior medical official was quoted as saying by Press TV on Wednesday.

The number of daily tests will double, from the current 10,000 tests per day, to 20,000 to help authorities better deal with the disease outbreak, Alireza Biglari, head of the Pasteur Institute of Iran, was quoted as saying.

Iran’s death toll from the coronavirus has reached 3,136, with 124 deaths in the past 24 hours, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur told state TV on Thursday, adding that the country had 50,468 cases of infection.

Iraq

Iraqi Health Ministry on Wednesday confirmed a total of 728 COVID-19 cases and up to 52 deaths across the country.

Out of the 34 cases confirmed during the past 24 hours, nine in Basra, six in Erbil, five in Sulaimaniyah, four in Karbala, three in Duhok, two in each Babil and Diwaniyah, in addition to one in Najaf, Wasit and Muthanna each, the ministry said in a statement.

Iran's Azadi (Freedom) Tower is lit up with flags and messages of hope in solidarity with all the countries affected by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, in Tehran on March 31, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

Israel

Israel’s Health Minister Yaakov Litzman and his wife were diagnosed with coronavirus and are in isolation following guidelines, the health ministry said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went into isolation for the second time in a week after the diagnose of Litzman, the prime minister's office said.

All Israelis should wear face masks while in public as a precaution against the coronavirus, and upcoming Jewish, Muslim and Christian holidays should be marked only with immediate family, the prime minister said on Wednesday.

The death toll of the virus in the country has reached 31, with five patients died on Thursday, aged 72 to 95, all suffered from many other serious diseases. Meanwhile, the number of the novel coronavirus cases in Israel has risen to 6,211.

ALSO READ: WHO official: Coronavirus epidemic 'far from over' in Asia

Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the country can hold off for now on declaring an emergency over the coronavirus pandemic despite worries of an explosive spread of the disease as Tokyo confirmed more than 90 additional coronavirus infections on Thursday, according to Kyodo News. 

Amid concerns over the global COVID-19 pandemic, Abe may possibly cancel a planned trip in May to Moscow as the prime minister launched his offer to send cloth masks out to each of Japan’s more than 50 million households starting the week after next, with areas seeing a spike in cases getting priority.

Japan’s government will consider support to increase production of ECMO machines, used in a potentially life-saving treatment for coronavirus patients, as a part of an economic package to deal with the outbreak, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Thursday.

The government and ruling parties agreed to exempt firms from certain taxes if their sales decline by more than half from the previous year in any three-month period between February and October amid the coronavirus outbreak, Kyodo newswire said on Thursday.

As of Thursday 2,524 people had been infected with the COVID-19 virus in Japan. The death toll in Japan from the pneumonia-causing virus currently stands at a total of 82 people with the figure including those from the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama, close to Tokyo.

People watch swans and ducks in a public garden despite a government call to 'stay at home' amid the coronavirus outbreak, in Ankara, Turkey March 31, 2020. (PHOTO / AP)

Jordan

Four new COVID-19 cases were registered in Jordan on Wednesday, raising the overall number of confirmed cases in the country to 278.

Jordan's Health Minister Saad Jaber said in a statement that six patients who recovered from the novel coronavirus were discharged from hospital on Wednesday.

This led to 36 Jordan's total number of recoveries from the viral respiratory disease.

Kuwait

Kuwait reported on Thursday 25 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number in the country to 342, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

Among the six new cases are five Kuwaiti citizens who returned from Britain and France and one Philippine resident who returned from France, according to the ministry statement.

Nine cases have a history of contact with infected patients, and 10 are under investigation, according to the statement.

Kyrgyz

A new vice prime minister and a new health minister have been appointed in Kyrgyzstan, according to the decrees signed by President Sooronbai Jeenbekov on Wednesday.

Aida Ismailova will hold the post of vice prime minister for social affairs, and Sabirzhan Abdikarimov will serve as the health minister, the president's press service said.

According to the health ministry, at least 116 COVID-19 cases have been recorded in Kyrgyzstan so far. 

Lebanon

Lebanon's COVID-19 cases on Thursday increased to 494 after 15 new ones were detected, while the death toll has risen to 16, the National News Agency reported.

The Lebanese army directorate urged citizens to commit more seriously to measures to restrict the spread of the virus. 

Maldives

The Maldives has declared a partial curfew in the Greater Male region as a precautionary measure against the COVID-19 pandemic, local media reported on Thursday.

The Maldives has confirmed 19 cases of COVID-19, four of whom are local citizens.

Myanmar

The number of COVID-19 cases rose to 16 as of Wednesday in Myanmar, said the latest figures released by the Health and Sports Ministry.

One more patient, a 63-year-old woman from Ayeyarwady region, tested positive while she was temporarily staying in Yangon along with her son who recently arrived from Dubai.

So far, the country has reported 12 imported cases and four local transmissions in 10 days since its first case was reported in March 23.

New Zealand

New Zealand reported 76 new confirmed and 13 new probable cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the total number of confirmed and probable infections to 797 in the country.

There were no additional deaths and 92 people had recovered, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield from the Ministry of Health said at a press conference.

Oman

The Omani Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday that it recorded 18 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases registered in the country to 210.

All 18 cases are citizens of Oman, said a statement issued by the ministry, adding that 34 cases have recovered.

In its statement, the ministry called on Omani people to observe the procedures for quarantine, not to go to public places, and to ensure public hygiene.

People line up at a COVID-19 coronavirus testing station at Bondi Beach in Sydney on April 1, 2020. (PETER PARKS / AFP)

Pakistan 

Pakistan on Thursday resumed its international flight operations at a limited scale only for special flights subject to the prior permission from the Aviation Division.

The decision came after the government extended the suspension of all types of international, domestic, chartered, private aircraft and general aviation operation till April 11, 2020, as part of precautionary measures against the spread of COVID-19.

Palestine

A Palestinian health official announced on Thursday that 21 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the West Bank.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry said in a press statement that the total number of COVID-19 infections since March 5 has reached 155, including 143 in the West Bank and 12 in the Gaza Strip.

The statement also reported a death of a Palestinian woman from COVID-19 and 22 recoveries with 20 in the West Bank and two in the Gaza Strip.

South Korea  

South Korea will allow coronavirus patients to vote by mail or as an absentee in this month's parliamentary elections, as campaigning started on Thursday. 

The country reported 89 more cases of the COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of midnight Thursday local time, raising the total number of infections to 9,976.

Four more deaths were confirmed, lifting the death toll to 169. The total fatality rate came in at 1.69 percent.

A total of 261 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 5,828. 

Thailand

Thailand has imposed a curfew nationwide starting on Friday to prevent people from leaving home at night to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha announced on Thursday that the curfew is effective nationwide between 10.00 pm and 04.00 am daily, beginning on Friday.

Thailand earlier declared emergency rule to contain the COVID-19 spread while the number of confirmed cases has been growing on daily basis, totaling 1,875 on Thursday with the fatalities stand at 15. 

Thailand's cabinet will on Friday consider a new package of economic measures aimed at mitigating the impact of coronavirus over the next six months, a deputy prime minister said.

Tonga

Tonga's government announced on Thursday a 60-million-Pa'anga (US25.2 million) economic and social stimulus package as part of its efforts to fight the COVID-19.

Currently, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the two South Pacific island nations. 

Turkey

Turkey’s death toll from the coronavirus outbreak increased by 63 to 277 on Tuesday, its highest rise yet, while the number of confirmed cases from the disease rose by 2,148 to 15,679, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.

Speaking to reporters in Ankara, Koca said 14,396 tests had been conducted in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of tests carried out in Turkey to 106,799 since the outbreak began. 

He said Turkey would conduct 20,000-25,000 tests per day next week and then reach 30,000 tests shortly after.

READ MORE: Mass disinfections to combat virus pose another health hazard

UAE

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday announced 150 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 814.

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention said in a statement the new cases included many nationalities, all of whom were in stable condition.

The ministry also announced two more deaths from the novel coronavirus, raising the death toll in the country to eight.

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