Asia Pacific nations further ease COVID-19 measures

ANKARA The governments in the Asia Pacific region have eased lockdown restrictions as coronavirus cases slow down. Vietnam's government on Thursday resumed all non-essential services except for clubs and karaoke bars, daily Vietnam News reported. The decision to open almost all services was taken after Vietnam reported no local cases of the deadly infection in the last three weeks. Vietnam reported 271 cases of which 232 have recovered. There have been no deaths due to the infection in the country. In a related development, Thailand approved a 20% discount on water bills until the end of June. The tally of cases in Thailand rose to 2,992 with three new cases on Thursday. Some 55 people have died due to the deadly infection. The Daily Bangkok Post said the government is planning to further ease restrictions by reopening public spaces from May 17. On reopening schools, the country’s educational services office said the decision had been left to the school management. The authorities have also closed several beaches in the Pattaya area until the end of this month to stem the spread of the infection. In Hong Kong, where no local cases were reported since April 20, a patient tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time. The man was discharged three weeks ago from the hospital after being treated for the infection, Hong Kong Free Press reported. The city-state has reported 1,044 COVID-19 cases and four deaths since January. The authorities have decided to ease restrictions on gatherings from Friday. Under new regulations, people in groups of up to eight can now move out. Bars, gyms, cinemas, beauty salons, and parlors will also be allowed to resume business with some restrictions. Successfully combating coronavirus, Taiwan is mulling to relax restrictions imposed on restaurants. Taipei has not reported any local case of the coronavirus for 25 consecutive days, daily Taiwan News reported. The virus was first detected in China’s Hubei province last December and has since spread to 187 countries and region affecting more than 3.7 million people.