Asia-Pacific Coronavirus News: Australian PM reveals plan to open up domestic borders by Christmas, Indonesia reports 4,369 new cases

Source: Xinhua| 2020-10-23 19:21:30|Editor: huaxia

A hairdresser wearing a face mask serves a customer in Central Business District (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on Oct. 19, 2020. (Photo by Bai Xue/Xinhua)

-- Australian PM reveals plan to open up domestic borders by Christmas;

-- Indonesia reports 4,369 new cases, 118 new deaths;

-- India's tally rises to 7,761,312, death toll at 117,306;

-- Prices rebound as New Zealand unlocks from COVID-19 restrictions.

HONG KONG, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia-Pacific countries on Friday:

CANBERRA -- Leaders of seven of Australia's eight states and territories have agreed in principle to a plan to open their borders by the end of this year.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison chaired a meeting of the National Cabinet at which the local leaders, with the exception of West Australian Premier Mark McGowan, agreed to open up the country by Christmas on Dec. 25.

A child plays with a baby goat at a river bank in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Oct. 15, 2020. (Xinhua)

DHAKA -- Bangladesh reported 1,586 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 14 more deaths, bringing its total tally to 396,413 with 5,761 deaths.

A woman wearing a face mask walks on the street in Jakarta, Oct. 20, 2020. (Xinhua/Veri Sanovri)

JAKARTA -- The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 4,369 within one day to 381,910, with the death toll adding by 118 to 13,077, the health ministry said.

According to the ministry, 4,094 more people were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 305,100.

Tourists visit the Jonker Street night market in Malacca, Malaysia, Sept. 18, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)

KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia reported 710 new COVID-19 infections, the health ministry said, bringing the national total to 24,514.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press statement that one of the new cases is imported and 709 are local transmissions, 528 of which were reported in the state of Sabah.

People wearing face masks walk on a footbridge in Manila, the Philippines, on Oct. 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)

MANILA -- The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Philippines has climbed to 365,799, after the country's Department of Health (DOH) reported 1,923 new cases, the fourth straight day with less than 2,000 daily infections.

The DOH reported 1,640 new cases on Oct. 20, 1,509 on Oct. 21, 1,664 on Oct. 22.

The country has released a total of 81,888 prisoners as part of its efforts to decongest the country's crowded jails and prevent the contamination of COVID-19 among inmates, Philippine Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta.

A health worker collects swab from a woman for a COVID-19 test at Paltan Bazar in Guwahati, India's Assam State, on Sept. 28, 2020. (Str/Xinhua)

NEW DELHI -- India's COVID-19 tally reached 7,761,312 as 54,366 more cases were registered during the past 24 hours, according to the latest data released by the federal health ministry.

The death toll rose to 117,306, with 690 deaths recorded since Thursday morning.

A woman walks past a street in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, Oct. 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)

WELLINGTON -- Higher prices for vegetables and rates and a rebound in the cost of public transport led to a 0.7 percent rise in New Zealand's consumers price index (CPI) in the September 2020 quarter, taking annual inflation to 1.4 percent, the statistics department Stats NZ said.

New Zealand reported nine new cases of COVID-19, eight of which have been detected in the government managed isolation facilities, while one is a household contact connected to the marine employee cluster and was already in self-isolation.

Women walk in a pink muhly grass field in the Olympic Park in Seoul, South Korea, Oct. 15, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang)

SEOUL -- South Korea reported 155 more cases of the COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 25,698.

The daily caseload stayed above 100 for straight days, marking the highest figure in 42 days since Sept. 11 due to small cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province as well as imported cases.

KEY WORDS:
EXPLORE XINHUANET
010020070750000000000000011102121394624801