Asia-Pacific, Africa intensify responses

WELLINGTON－More strict measures have been imposed in Asia-Pacific and African countries in the face of the novel coronavirus outbreak as the number of infections continues to increase rapidly.

On Tuesday, New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern urged people to reduce contact to a bare minimum to help fight the outbreak, as the country prepared for a one-month lockdown.

New Zealand has just 155 cases, but Ardern's government wants to move fast to halt the spread. It was one of the first countries to force all arriving travelers into self-isolation and to ban indoor and outdoor gatherings.

Under the lockdown, all non-essential services, schools and offices will be shut for a month from Wednesday night. People can go out for a walk or take their children out but they have to keep a distance of 2 meters from others. They can also go to supermarkets.

Parliament will sit on Wednesday to impose the state of emergency and lockdown, she said.

In neighboring Australia, New South Wales, the most populous state, recorded its highest daily rise in coronavirus cases on Tuesday and officials warned of harsh penalties for anybody violating self-isolation orders as the country stepped closer to a full lockdown.

The state identified 149 new coronavirus cases overnight, taking the state total to 818, and the national toll to 1,886 cases.

The operation of schools has been a flashpoint in the country, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison advising that they were safe for students to attend, even as some state leaders urged parents to keep their children at home.

Meanwhile, Australia's Parliament voted to pass about $49 billion in economic stimulus measures on Monday in response to the outbreak.

State of emergency

In Thailand, the government agreed on Tuesday to declare an emergency to take stricter measures to control the outbreak that has infected 827 people in the Southeast Asian country.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha said his Cabinet had agreed to put a one-month state of emergency into effect on Thursday.

The move will give the government enforcement powers not normally available to it. They include implementing curfews, censoring the media, dispersing gatherings and allowing the deployment of military forces for enforcement.

In Iran, the numbers of deaths and infections climbed to 1,934 and 24,811, respectively, on Tuesday, as more countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Algeria and Tunisia, decided to impose curfews to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Coronavirus cases were slow to arrive in Africa, but the virus is spreading quickly, having infected more than 1,700 people across 45 countries and challenging already strained and under-funded health systems.

Burkina Faso registered 24 new cases, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 99 as one of its ministers was confirmed to be infected, making it the second hardest-hit country in sub-Saharan Africa.

Burkina Faso's Minister of Trade and Industry Harouna Kabore tested positive, the fifth Cabinet minister infected by the virus in the country, the ministry said on Monday.

Four other ministers also tested positive on March 20.

The US ambassador to Burkina Faso tested positive on Sunday. The government on Friday announced a dusk-to-dawn curfew and a closure of its borders.

In other developments, the presidents of Ivory Coast and Senegal declared emergencies in their countries on Monday, imposing curfews and travel restrictions on their populations.

Xinhua and agencies contributed to this story.