People walk at Shibuya in Tokyo, Japan, Jan. 9, 2021. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)
-- Japan's Tokyo reports 1,274 new cases as virus variant adds to woes;
-- Bangladesh cases rise to 529,687, death toll reaches 7,950;
-- Death toll from COVID-19 in the Philippines exceeds 10,000;
-- India's tally rises to 10,595,660.
HONG KONG, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia-Pacific countries on Wednesday:
TOKYO -- The Tokyo metropolitan government reported 1,274 new cases of COVID-19 in the capital, marking the eighth successive day the daily tally has surpassed 1,000 cases and bringing the cumulative total to 89,188 infections.
The number of patients in Tokyo designated as being in a "serious condition" increased by five to a record 160 patients, the metropolitan government said.
With COVID-19 still showing little signs of abating in the capital and further afield, despite 11 prefectures including the hardest hit capital of 14 million currently under a government-issued state of emergency, the detection a day earlier of three cases of a new coronavirus variant has added to the country's woes.
A health worker talks with the mother of a child during the measles-rubella vaccination at a centre in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Jan. 14, 2021. (Xinhua)
DHAKA -- Bangladesh reported 656 new COVID-19 cases and eight new deaths on Wednesday, making the tally at 529,687 and death toll at 7,950, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.
The total number of recovered patients in the country stood at 474,472 including 617 new recoveries on Wednesday, said the DGHS.
According to the official data, the COVID-19 fatality rate in Bangladesh is 1.50 percent and the current recovery rate is 89.58 percent.
People wearing face masks are seen at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City, the Philippines, Jan. 17, 2021. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)
MANILA -- The Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines reported 64 new COVID-19 deaths, pushing the total death toll to 10,042.
The fatality rate in the Southeast Asian country now is at 1.98 percent, the DOH said in a daily bulletin.
The DOH also reported 1,862 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 505,939.
A total of 765 more patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 466,993.
People wearing face masks ride on a street in Bangkok, Thailand, Jan. 11, 2021. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)
BANGKOK -- Thailand reported 59 cases of COVID-19 and one more death, according to the Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).
Of the new cases, 51 were domestic infections and eight others referred to those who had returned from abroad and tested positive in this country, CCSA spokeswoman Apisamai Srirangsan said.
Thailand has confirmed 12,653 infections, including 9,621 recoveries and 71 deaths, while 2,961 others are currently hospitalized, she said.
Students have their hands sanitized at the Chaktomouk Primary School in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Jan. 11, 2021. (Photo by Sovannara/Xinhua)
PHNOM PENH -- Cambodia confirmed seven more imported COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections in the country to 448 to date, said a Ministry of Health statement.
The new cases were detected on Cambodian migrant workers returning from Thailand recently via land borders, the statement said.
The Southeast Asian nation has so far registered a total of 448 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with zero deaths and 392 recoveries, the statement said.
Health workers wait in line to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Mumbai, India, Jan. 16, 2021. (Photo by Fariha Farooqui/Xinhua)
NEW DELHI -- India's COVID-19 tally rose to 10,595,660 as 13,823 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, said the latest data from the federal health ministry.
According to the official data, the death toll mounted to 152,718 with 162 new deaths.
There are still 197,201 active cases in the country, while 10,245,741 people have been discharged from hospitals after medical treatment. This is the first time in the past several months when the number of active cases in the country fell below the 200,000-mark.
People watch artists performing during the Backyard Buskers Festival held in Christchurch, New Zealand, Jan. 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Lu Huaiqian)
WELLINGTON -- New Zealand has reported six more cases of COVID-19 in managed isolation since the last media statement on Monday, according to the Ministry of Health.
The newly reported imported cases came from South Africa, Britain, Zimbabwe, the United States and Russia. There are no new cases in the community.
One of these cases is classified as historical and deemed not infectious, said a ministry statement.
Fourteen previously reported cases have now recovered. The total number of active cases in New Zealand is 76, and the total number of confirmed cases is 1,911, it said.
A taxi driver wearing a face mask is seen in Seoul, South Korea, Jan. 6, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang)
SEOUL -- South Korea reported 404 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Tuesday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 73,518.
The daily caseload was slightly up from 386 on the previous day, but it stayed below 500 for three straight days.
Seventeen more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 1,300. The total fatality rate stood at 1.77 percent. ■
