Hundreds of thousands of people displaced by conflict in Myanmar face a health "catastrophe" from the coronavirus pandemic, a rights group warned, as international calls grow for an end to fighting. Overcrowded camps with an estimated 350,000 people were "COVID-19 tinderboxes", Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has told security forces they should shoot dead anyone causing "trouble" in areas locked down due to the coronavirus pandemic.About half the country's roughly 110 million people are currently under quarantine - including millions in deep poverty, left jobless by tough restrictions on movement.Hours before Duterte gave the order in a speech late Wednesday, nearly two dozen people from a slum community in the capital Manila were arrested for h

In late January, Cambodia's Prime Minister, Hun Sen, made a televised statement about the spread of misinformation regarding the COVID-19 virus outbreak originating from Wuhan, China. He also threatened to “kick out” reporters or officials seen wearing a face mask.He said that the real illness was the fear they faced from inaccurate information spreading on social media.

The heads of three global agencies warned Wednesday of a potential worldwide food shortage if authorities fail to manage the ongoing coronavirus crisis properly.Many governments around the world have put their populations on lockdown to slow the spread of the virus but that has resulted in severe slow-downs in international trade and food supply chains.Meanwhile panic buying by people going into isolation has already demonstrated the fragility of supply chains as supermarket shelves emptied i

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday it was deeply concerned about the near-exponential escalation of the new coronavirus pandemic, with the number of deaths doubling in a week.WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged citizens around the globe to stand together to fight COVID-19, as he braced for the millionth confirmed case."As we enter the fourth month since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am deeply concerned about the rapid escalation and global spread of infecti

The Philippines reported 538 new cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 2,084 as of 31 March 2020 – the highest overnight jump recorded in ASEAN.

Indonesian leader Joko Widodo declared a state of emergency Tuesday as coronavirus deaths in the world's fourth most populous country jumped again, but he resisted calls for a nationwide lockdown.Widodo's administration has been heavily criticised for not imposing lockdowns in major cities, including the capital Jakarta, a vast megalopolis home to about 30 million people where most of the country's virus deaths have been reported.Indonesia's leader offered few details of t

As of 30 March, over 700,000 people have been infected with the new COVID-19 virus, with 8,000 confirmed cases reported across ASEAN. The virus, which first emerged from China’s central Hubei province has killed over 200 people in Southeast Asia and shows no sign of slowing down.

As of 30 March, Indonesia reported 1,414 COVID-19 cases and a total of 122 related deaths – the highest reported in Southeast Asia. Even at the early stage of the outbreak, there was international scepticism surrounding Indonesia's response and reporting of its COVID-19 cases.In mid-February, Marc Lipsitch, professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T. H.

Here are the latest developments in Asia related to the novel coronavirus pandemic: Markets resume sell-offAsian markets fell following a steep drop on Wall Street as the jubilation from last week's enormous US stimulus package faded and investors returned their attention to the soaring infection and death rate of the pandemic.Equities have been hammered as the virus spreads and the global economy heads for recession, but they bounced back for a few days last week as governments