ANKARA
Countries in the Asia-Pacific region continued to report more cases and fatalities due to COVID-19 on Thursday.
Malaysia’s tally of cases rose above 2,000 as officials confirmed 235 new cases over the past 24 hours.
According to local daily The Star, the total number of cases in the country is now 2,031, while four more fatalities raised the death toll to 23.
Thailand
Thailand reported 111 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the country’s total to 1,045.
Four people have died of the coronavirus disease in Thailand so far, while 88 people have recovered.
Dr. Anupong Suchariyakul, a specialist at Thailand’s Disease Control Department, blamed partygoers for the spread of the virus, the Bangkok Post reported.
He said the spike witnessed in local cases was due to visitors thronging to entertainment places, boxing stadiums, and also religious ceremonies.
Vietnam
Vietnam has 153 confirmed cases so far, but is yet to record any death due to the coronavirus, according to the country’s Health Ministry.
According to daily Vietnam News, the ministry reported five new cases on Thursday, two of whom had been in quarantine since returning to the country between March 21 and March 23.
The three other cases were of local transmission, the ministry said.
Cambodia
Health authorities in Cambodia said 10 people have recovered after contracting the coronavirus.
They said the country’s total number of cases is 96, including 55 foreigners.
Pakistan
A total of 21 people have recovered from COVID-19 in Pakistan, according to the country’s top health official Dr. Zafar Mirza.
Pakistan's tally of confirmed cases is at 1,130, with nine fatalities, as of Thursday.
Kashmir
Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir reported two more cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, taking the disputed region’s tally to 11.
One person died in the region on Thursday, authorities said.
The new cases include two minor siblings, whose grandfather had tested positive a few days ago.
India
Four more people died due of the coronavirus disease, taking India’s death toll to 13.
Health officials reported 43 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, raising the total to 649.
They said this was the lowest rise in daily cases over the past five days.
New Zealand
New Zealand, where authorities enforced a lockdown at Wednesday midnight, reported 78 new COVID-19 cases, including two minors.
Authorities said 27 people have recovered from the disease so far, while the total number of cases is now 283.
Australia
The death toll in Australia rose to 13 after a COVID-19 patient died in Perth.
The deceased was on the Celebrity Solstice cruise ship which was docked in Sydney between March 18 and March 20, ABC News reported.
Earlier, the state of Victoria reported three deaths.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in Australia is at 2,810.
After first appearing in Wuhan, China last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 175 countries and regions, according to data compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.
The data shows that over 495,000 cases have been reported worldwide since last December, with almost 22,300 deaths and nearly 120,000 recoveries.
