Seoul may ease clamps on social movements

SEOUL－South Korea is considering easing up on its social distancing controls, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on Monday after a stabilization in the country's coronavirus infection rates over the past week.

Only 25 new cases were reported on Monday, bringing the total to 10,537. The country's daily number of new cases has been below 50 in the past five days.

But Chung said any possible shift soon toward everyday life doesn't mean a return to what people were used to before the outbreak.

On Monday, South Korea started to test all arrivals from the United States, as it is the source of almost half of its imported cases over the past two weeks.

Elsewhere in Asia, Singapore is preparing to house hundreds of foreign workers－many from South Asia－in vessels typically used for offshore and marine industry workers as it races to find alternatives to dormitories where the virus has been spreading rapidly.

The city state reported 233 new cases on Sunday, taking its total number to 2,532.

Israel's former chief rabbi Eliahou Bakshi-Doron, 79, who was known for promoting interfaith dialogue, died on Sunday of COVID-19 in what is the country's highest-profile death from the pandemic.

As of Sunday, Israel had reported 11,145 cases and 103 deaths.

In Iran, all commanders of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps will donate 20 percent of their monthly salaries until the outbreak in Iran ends, IRGC spokesperson Ramezan Sharif said on Sunday.

The donations will go to the people who have lost their jobs due to the economic disruptions.

Iran on Monday reported 1,617 new cases, taking the total number to 73,303. The death toll rose to 4,585.

Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi said on Monday the infection rate and the number of deaths have been on the decline in most provinces.

Intensified measures

Saudi Arabia on Sunday extended indefinitely a curfew imposed because of the outbreak amid a surge in infections. Its total number of infections had risen to 4,462, with 59 deaths.

Jordan on Sunday also extended a month-long lockdown that has closed schools, universities and government agencies until the end of April. The country had registered 389 cases and seven deaths.

The Egyptian armed forces started distributing free face masks to citizens in public places to curb the spread of the virus, which has infected over 2,000 people in the country, Egyptian military spokesman Tamer al-Refai said on Sunday.

South Africa saw a rapid rise of 145 new cases on Sunday, probably due to the mass community testings that began last week, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said. The country had 2,173 confirmed cases as of Sunday.

Sudan on Sunday banned public-transport trips between cities to arrest the virus' spread.

Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok also issued an emergency order under which those who break isolation rules will be punished. Penalties will also apply to those who impede medical treatment or assault health workers.

Xinhua - Agencies