Three global agencies warned of a potential worldwide food shortage if authorities fail to manage the ongoing coronavirus crisis properly.

The World Health Organization said it was deeply concerned about the near-exponential escalation of the new coronavirus pandemic.

The Philippines reported 538 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 2,084 as of 31 March.

Indonesian leader Joko Widodo declared a state of emergency as coronavirus deaths in the country jumped again.

Many have claimed that the reason for low numbers of COVID-19 cases in certain countries is simply because of limited test kits.

As of 30 March, Indonesia reported 1,414 COVID-19 cases and a total of 122 deaths – the highest reported in Southeast Asia.

Here are the latest developments in Asia related to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

On Thursday, Thailand declared a state of emergency and called for a nationwide lockdown to fight the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dozens of prisoners broke furniture and torched buildings during a riot in a Thai jail sparked by fears of a coronavirus outbreak in the facility.

With more than 300,000 people infected in Europe, the disease shows few signs of slowing, and has already cast the world into a recession.