Japan tightens clamp on arrivals as infections grow

TOKYO－Japan plans to add to a blacklist of countries that sets out which foreigners are denied entry of it steps up border controls to curb spread of the novel coronavirus.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that 14 more countries, including Russia, Peru and Saudi Arabia, will be added to the list, which take effect on Wednesday.

Japan has already banned entry to citizens from more than 70 other countries, as well as those who had visited the listed nations in the past two weeks, while invalidating visas for those from the rest of the world.

The entry ban and the visa restrictions, which were initially set to end on Thursday, have been extended until the end of May.

Japan has 13,385 confirmed cases with 364 deaths, according to the health ministry.

Elsewhere in Asia, Sri Lanka on Monday reversed plans to end its lockdown, extending it to May 4, after the number of sailors infected with COVID-19 from a single naval base jumped to 95 out of a nationwide total of 477 cases.

Malaysia reported 40 new cases on Monday, taking the total to 5,820 infections. The health ministry also reported one new death, raising the number of fatalities to 99.

Iran plans to reopen mosques in parts of the country as restrictions on Iranians gradually ease, President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday.

The country will be divided up into white, yellow and red regions based on the number of infections and deaths, and activities in each region will be restricted accordingly.

An area that has been consistently free of infections or deaths will be labeled white and mosques could be reopened and Friday prayers resumed, Rouhani said.

Iran on Monday reported 991 new cases, taking its total to 91,472. The death toll rose to 5,806.

Also in the Middle East, Israel allowed some businesses to reopen on Sunday and said it was considering letting children return to school as part of trial efforts to ease restrictions and help the country's struggling economy.

After weeks of closures, shops with street access reopened, though malls and markets stayed off-limits to prevent large gatherings.

Meanwhile, Israel's Health Minister Yaakov Litzman on Sunday said he would step down following a public uproar over his handling of the coronavirus crisis and his own COVID-19 infection.

The virus has infected over 15,000 Israelis and killed nearly 200 people.

Ready to ease rules

New Zealand is ready to ease the rules on a strict lockdown from Tuesday, after the nation reported only five new cases on Monday.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there has not been widespread community transmission and the country has so far managed to avoid the worst scenarios for an outbreak.

From midnight, certain businesses like those in the construction sector will be allowed to reopen, but social distancing rules will still apply.

In Africa, the total death toll had reached 1,374 as cases climbed to 30,329 as of Sunday, the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention said.

The highly affected African countries include South Africa with 4,361 cases, Egypt with 4,319, Morocco with 3,897 and Algeria 3,256 cases.

Xinhua - Agencies