Confirmed COVID-19 cases keep surging in Asia-Pacific as Malaysia records highest daily spike of 1,240 infections

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | XINHUA |   Confirmed cases of COVID-19 kept rising in Asia-Pacific countries on Monday as Malaysia recorded the biggest daily jump of infections.

Malaysia reported 1,240 new COVID-19 infections in the highest daily spike since the outbreak, bringing the national total to 27,805, the health ministry said on Monday.

The Malaysian government also announced the extension of movement restrictive measures in several areas including the capital city Kuala Lumpur to curb the spread.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah told a press briefing that two of the new cases were imported and 1,238 were local transmissions, some 75 percent of which were reported in the eastern state of Sabah.

Another seven deaths have been reported, pushing the total deaths to 236.

India’s total tally reached 7,909,959 as 45,148 more cases were registered during the past 24 hours, said the latest data released by the federal health ministry.

The death toll surged to 119,014, with 480 deaths recorded since Sunday morning.

This is the first time in nearly four months when new cases per day have fallen below 50,000-mark and deaths per day below 500 in the country.

Still there are 653,717 active COVID-19 cases in the country. In all 7,137,228 people have been successfully cured.

The total cases in Indonesia rose by 3,222 within one day to 392,934, with the death toll adding by 112 to 13,411, the health ministry said on Monday.

According to the ministry, 3,908 more people were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 317,672.

The Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines reported 1,607 new confirmed cases, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 371,630.

The DOH said 245 more patients had recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 328,258, and the death toll climbed to 7,039 after 62 more patients died.

South Korea reported 119 more cases as of 0:00 a.m. Monday local time compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 25,955.

Of the new cases, 20 were Seoul residents and 65 were people residing in Gyeonggi province.

Twenty-five were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 3,663.

No more death was confirmed, leaving the death toll at 457. The total fatality rate stood at 1.76 percent.

The number of confirmed cases in the Maldives has risen to 11,505, local media reported Monday.

According to the Health Protection Agency (HPA), 84 new cases of COVID-19 were detected on Sunday, including 26 locals and 58 foreigners.

The Maldives has 937 active cases of COVID-19 across 22 inhabited islands and 24 resorts. So far, 10,524 people have fully recovered from the virus while 37 have died.

The Afghan Ministry of Public Health confirmed 104 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of patients to 40,937 in the country, including 5,269 active cases.

A total of 431 tests were conducted within the past 24 hours, and 104 were positive in nine provinces out of 34 Afghan provinces, the ministry said in a statement.

Four patients died within the period, taking the death toll to 1,518 since February, the statement added.

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XINHUA