People wearing face masks to help protect against the spread of the coronavirus are reflected in mirrors at a subway station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday Aug. 31, 2020. South Korea has counted its 18th straight day of triple-digit daily jumps in coronavirus cases as its health minister warned about an increase in transmissions gone untraced.
Police officers wearing face masks and shields to help protect against the spread of the coronavirus stand guard at Gwanghwamun square in Seoul, South Korea, Monday Aug. 31, 2020. South Korea has counted its 18th straight day of triple-digit daily jumps in coronavirus cases as its health minister warned about an increase in transmissions gone untraced.
People wearing face masks queue for the coronavirus test outside a testing center in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020. Hong Kong began a voluntary mass-testing program for coronavirus Tuesday as part of a strategy to break the chain of transmission in the city’s third outbreak of the disease. The virus-testing program has become a flash point of political debate in Hong Kong, with many distrustful over resources and staff being provided by the China’s central government and fears that the residents’ DNA could be collected during the exercise
A woman weaning a face mask walks near the notice showing a temporarily closed as a precautions against the coronavirus outside of the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020. South Korea reported more than 200 new cases, mostly from the greater capital area, where officials have restricted dining at restaurants and shut down churches, nightspots, fitness centers and after-school academies to fight a viral resurgence.
People weaning face masks cross a stream at Cheonggye stream in downtown Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020. South Korea reported more than 200 new cases, mostly from the greater capital area, where officials have restricted dining at restaurants and shut down churches, nightspots, fitness centers and after-school academies to fight a viral resurgence.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam arrives at a press conference on the state of the coronavirus in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020. Hong Kong kicked off a voluntary mass-testing program for coronavirus Tuesday as part of a strategy to break the chain of transmission in the city’s third outbreak of the disease.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam adjusts the face mask during a press conference on the state of the coronavirus in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020. Hong Kong kicked off a voluntary mass-testing program for coronavirus Tuesday as part of a strategy to break the chain of transmission in the city’s third outbreak of the disease.
People wearing face masks queue for the coronavirus test outside a testing center in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020. Hong Kong began a voluntary mass-testing program for coronavirus Tuesday as part of a strategy to break the chain of transmission in the city’s third outbreak of the disease. The virus-testing program has become a flash point of political debate in Hong Kong, with many distrustful over resources and staff being provided by the China’s central government and fears that the residents’ DNA could be collected during the exercise.
Nasal swab sample is collected from a man by a medical worker at a makeshift testing site in the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020. Hong Kong began a voluntary mass-testing program for coronavirus Tuesday as part of a strategy to break the chain of transmission in the city’s third outbreak of the disease.
Medical professionals collect samples from a man at a makeshift Covid-19 testing site at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong Tuesday, Sept.1, 2020. Hong Kong began a voluntary mass-testing program for coronavirus Tuesday as part of a strategy to break the chain of transmission in the city’s third outbreak of the disease.
In this photo provided by Hong Kong Government Information Service, nasal swab sample is collected from Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, right, at a testing site in Hong Kong Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020. Hong Kong began a voluntary mass-testing program for coronavirus Tuesday as part of a strategy to break the chain of transmission in the city’s third outbreak of the disease.
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Fitness gyms, barber shops and internet cafes were allowed to reopen partly in the Philippine capital Tuesday as the government further eased quarantine restrictions despite the country having the most coronavirus infections in Southeast Asia.
President Rodrigo Duterte, however, placed the southern city of Iligan under a mild lockdown after a rise in community infections, underscoring how COVID-19 cases have spread away from metropolitan Manila, the epicenter of the country’s outbreak.
Nighttime curfews have been shortened in most cities in the capital area and outlying provinces under the new arrangements, which will last for a month.
Duterte also said medical personnel would get free food and lodging if they would otherwise be ejected by landlords and dormitory owners fearing they were virus carriers. If the landlords get sick “don’t let them into hospitals too, maybe that’s better, tit-for-tat,” the tough-talking president said, but later added he was joking.
More than 220,000 COVID-19 cases, including about 3,500 deaths, have been reported in the Philippines, which has struggled to balance public restrictions and economic concerns.
In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region:
— India added nearly 70,000 new coronavirus cases, its lowest daily increase in the last six days, driving its total near 3.7 million. The Health Ministry on Tuesday also reported 819 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking total fatalities up to 65,288. India’s increases have been the highest in the world almost daily for nearly three weeks. It is conducting nearly 1 million tests every day. The federal government also announced Parliament will resume from Sept. 14 with strict social distancing. It had adjourned, with no set date for resumption, in March just before a nationwide lockdown was imposed to halt the spread of the virus.