A policeman checks a man's movement pass during a lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, April 14, 2021. (Xinhua)
-- Philippines logs 11,429 new cases, total tops 900,000;
-- India registers record high of over 200,000 new cases, weekend curfew imposed in New Delhi;
-- Cancelling Tokyo Olympics an option if COVID-19 situation worsens: LDP Secretary-General;
-- Thailand's daily cases reach new high for 2nd straight day.
HONG KONG, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia-Pacific countries on Thursday:
DHAKA -- Bangladesh's COVID-19 death toll reached a grim milestone as 94 more people have died from the pandemic, bringing the total fatality to 10,081.
The country's Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) also reported 4,192 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, raising the case tally to 707,362.
An Afghan prisoner receives a dose of COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination campaign in Herat city, western Afghanistan, April 4, 2021. (Photo by Elaha Sahel/Xinhua)
KABUL -- Afghanistan's Public Health Ministry reported 78 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing its total tally to 57,612.
Photo taken on Jan. 19, 2021 shows a group of students at a primary school in Suva, Fiji. (Xinhua/Zhang Yongxing)
SUVA -- Fiji's Health Ministry is working to administer all available COVID-19 vaccines in the island nation by Saturday, local media reported.
According to Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC), Fiji's health minister Ifereimi Waqainabete said that based on the current projections, they should complete administering the full batch in two days, having covered 50,000 Fijians.
File photo taken on March 18, 2020 shows Qantas airplanes at Sydney Airport, in Sydney, Australia. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)
SYDNEY -- Australia's national airline Qantas is talking up the prospects of more domestic flights and the reopening of international routes facing a couple of favorable conditions.
Qantas said all domestic crew for Qantas and Jetstar are now back at work, and its domestic capacity is expected to reach 90 percent of pre-COVID levels by the middle of this year, up from a previous forecast of 80 percent, and will then surpass 2019 levels of flying.
Buddhists go to the Ounalom Pagoda during the first day of the three-day Khmer New Year holiday amid ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on April 14, 2021. (Photo by Sovannara/Xinhua)
PHNOM PENH -- Cambodia confirmed 344 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections in the kingdom to 5,218, the country's Ministry of Health said in a statement.
People wearing protective gear walk past a market in Manila, the Philippines, on April 15, 2021. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)
MANILA -- The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 11,429 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 904,285.
The death toll climbed to 15,594 after 148 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH said.
A devotee runs over smouldering charcoal during Charak Puja festival on the outskirts of Agartala, the capital city of India's northeastern state of Tripura, April 14, 2021. (Str/Xinhua)
NEW DELHI -- India's COVID-19 surge continues as a fresh high of 200,739 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, taking the total tally to 14,074,564, said the latest data released by the federal health ministry.
A weekend curfew was imposed in India's capital New Delhi following a steep rise in COVID-19 cases over the past few days, local Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said.
The ongoing Kumbh Mela congregation in India's northern state of Uttarakhand will continue as per schedule until April 30 and there has been no discussion to cut it short despite the rising COVID-19 infections, officials said.
Tokyo Big Sight is illuminated in Olympic colors to mark 100 days before the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan on April 14, 2021. (Photo by Christopher Jue/Xinhua)
TOKYO -- Secretary-General of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Toshihiro Nikai said canceling the Tokyo Olympics this summer could be an option if the COVID-19 situation continues to worsen.
Nikai, the No. 2 leader of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's ruling party, said during the recording of a TV show that canceling the Games may be an option if the spread of coronavirus infections forces organizers to think it would be difficult to hold the event.
Dancers rest at the Erawan Shrine during the Songkran festival in Bangkok, Thailand, April 13, 2021. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)
BANGKOK -- Thailand recorded 1,543 new COVID-19 infections, hitting a record high for the second consecutive day and bringing the nationwide tally to 37,453.
Of the new cases, 1,540 were local infections and three others were imported cases, according to the Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).
A citizen wearing a face mask purchases goods at a supermarket in Auckland, New Zealand, Feb. 28, 2021. (Photo by Zhao Gang/Xinhua)
WELLINGTON -- New Zealand reported two cases of COVID-19 in managed isolation and no new cases in the community.
People line up to receive COVID-19 test in Hwaseong of Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, March 14, 2021. (Photo by Seo Yu-Seok/Xinhua)
SEOUL -- South Korea's central bank froze its policy rate at a record low on lingering economic uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic despite an improvement in recent economic data.
The country reported 698 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Wednesday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 112,117.
The daily caseload was down from 731 the previous day, but it stayed around 700, raising worry about the fourth wave of the pandemic.■
