Asian countries are helping each other recover from the coronavirus outbreak, with China sending health experts throughout the region to assist in the battle against the highly-infectious strain.
Chinese Experts Finish Assistance in the Philippines
Health experts of the Chinese Anti-Epidemic Medical Expert Team have arrived back home on Sunday, following two weeks of providing assistance to the Philippines, Xinhua reported.
The said team of experts arrived in the capital of Manila on April 5 to share China's experiences about the COVID-19 strain and how the largest economy in Asia battled the virus. The two sides exchanged ideas and tactics to contain the virus and prevent further infections in the island country.
The Chinese experts left the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Sunday, with the Philippine government thanking its Chinese counterpart for the assistance.
China, the virus' origin country, has since lifted the total lockdown on origin city Wuhan. The country has reported 83,805 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 4,636 deaths as of Sunday.
South Korea New Cases Below 15
On Monday, South Korea registered 13 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country's total to 10,674, the Yonhap News Agency reported.
The news came as more elementary school students are expected to start the spring semester on Monday through online classes. Experts noted that cluster infections may occur should students resume classes in-school.
The government has since developed a three-step plan to open the new school year, which was supposed to in March, following the postponement of roughly five weeks.
As of Sunday, the country recorded 234 deaths from the COVID-19 strain.
North Korea Denies Sending Letter to Trump
On Sunday, the North Korean government denied that leader Kim Jong-un sent a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, following the latter's claims that he received a "nice note" from Kim.
The denial came after Trump said in his Saturday COVID-19 briefing that his correspondence with Kim has been good. The chief of North Korea's foreign service news department said Trump may have referred to "personal letters that had been exchanged in the past."
The news came after sister of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) leader, Kim Yo-jong, revealed that Trump sent a letter to his North Korean counterpart, offering aid in the country's battle against the novel coronavirus.
North Korea has yet to registered any confirmed COVID-19 cases.
80 New Cases in Australia over the Weekend
On Monday, Australia registered 80 new cases over the last 48 hours, with federal health minister Greg Hunt stating that the decline in new coronavirus cases indicates that the country has as "sustained and genuine flattening of the curve," Seven News reported.
New South Wales remains the hardest-hit Australian state, with six new cases reported on Monday. The state now has a total of 2,963 confirmed COVID-19 cases.
Victoria follows behind with 1,329, and Queensland retained the third spot, with 1,019 confirmed coronavirus cases. Queensland, in particular, reported zero new cases on Monday.
As of Monday, Australia registered a total of 6,606 coronavirus cases and 67 deaths.
Singapore Cases Spike Again
In the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak in Singapore, the city-state appeared to have contained the strain, but over the last few days, a spike in new cases was recorded as clusters popped up from dormitories.
According to Channel News Asia, 596 new COVID-19 cases were registered on Sunday, bringing the country's total to 6,588.
The Singaporean Ministry of Health (MOH) revealed that of the new cases, 68 percent have links to existing clusters that were detected over the past few days. Furthermore, majority of the new cases were residents of foreign work dormitories.
The MOH went on to clarify that most of the new patients were young and have mild symptoms but they continue to be monitored by health experts in community isolation facilities designated by the government.
Singapore has so far only seen 11 fatalities from the COVID-19 outbreak.
Japan Secures Over 200,000 Hotel Rooms for Non-Severe Patients
In Japan, over 210,000 hotel rooms across the country have been designated for COVID-19 patients who have mild symptoms and those who are asymptomatic.
According to Kyodo News, economic revitalization minister Yasutoshi Nishimura also said in a press conference that around 6,000 of the designated hotel rooms have concluded contract signing.
As of Sunday, Japan registered 10,797 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 236 deaths.
