HONG KONG, Aug 15 (NNN-XINHUA) – Asia-Pacific countries continued to see surging COVID-19 cases yesterday, as the Philippines recorded over 6,000 new infections, while the lock-down in New Zealand’s Auckland was set to continue, amid a resurgence of cases.
The number of confirmed cases in the Philippines surged to 153,660, after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 6,216 new daily cases. The DOH said, the number of recoveries further rose to 71,405 after 1,038 more patients recovered.
New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland, will remain in COVID-19 Alert Level 3, for 12 more days, with the rest of the country staying in Alert Level 2, as there are currently 36 active cases, 17 of which are linked to the recent community transmission in Auckland.
Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, told a press conference that, the cabinet had unanimously decided to maintain the current alert levels until Aug 26. The government will review the situation and make further decisions on Aug 21.
The country confirmed 12 new cases and one probable case, with the 12 cases linked to community transmission from an Auckland family cluster, amid the second and stronger wave of the epidemic in the country.
The total cases in India crossed 2.4 million, reaching 2,461,190, as the total deaths crossed the 48,000-mark, reaching 48,040, according to the data released by the federal health ministry.
During the past 24 hours, as many as 64,553 new cases were added to the tally, and 1,007 more deaths were registered.
The number of confirmed cases in Bangladesh reached 271,881, as over 2,700 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours.
According to the figure, reported by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 2,766 new positive cases and 34 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours across Bangladesh.
Thailand reported 17 new cases, all now under state quarantine, with 15 of them being Thais, who have recently returned from India. According to the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), the cases from India include nine men and six women.
The Afghan Ministry of Public Health confirmed 75 new cases, bringing the total number of patients in the country to 37,506.
The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 2,307 within one day to 135,123, with the death toll adding by 53 to 6,021, the Health Ministry said.
Laos detected two more confirmed cases, with its total number rising to 22. Lao Deputy Minister of Health, Phouthone Meaungpak, said, the two new cases were both Lao nationals who returned to the country from abroad on Aug 12.
The COVID-19 outbreak in the Australian State of Victoria will likely delay the country’s economic recovery by several months, Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor, Philip Lowe, told a parliamentary inquiry.
Prior to the outbreak in Victoria, both the government and RBA were expecting a return to growth for the national economy during the Sept financial quarter.
Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, declared that, Australia is “moving heaven and earth” to fight COVID-19, as a man in his 20’s became the nation’s youngest death.
Cambodia confirmed one new imported case, bringing the total number of infections in the kingdom to 273, said a Health Ministry’s statement. The latest case was detected on a 51-year-old Cambodian woman, who arrived in the country on July 31 from the United States via a connecting flight in South Korea, the statement said.
South Korea reported 103 more cases as of 12:00 a.m. Friday, compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 14,873. The daily caseload soared above 100 in 20 days since July 25, due to a surge in small cluster infections and imported cases.– NNN-XINHUA
