The Ministry of Health and Sports of Myanmar on March 23 reported the two first cases of the acute respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).

Indonesian Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has called on Muslim clerics to issue fatwas to regulate the special circumstances that Muslims may find themselves in amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

As COVID-19 concerns are growing, many countries in Asia have made stronger actions in efforts to contain the pandemic.

Laos saw a decline in export-import turnover in February mainly due to the impact of the acute respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).

The Cambodian government has decided to raise fines for traffic violations five times in order to ease road traffic congestion.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) will cut 96 percent of its scheduled capacity until the end of April as border controls around the world are tightened over the past days to curb the COVID-19 outbreak.

Thailand has introduced measures that include a liquidity support fund worth 70-100 billion THB (2.2-3.2 billion USD) to reduce riska in the debt market amid the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak.

People have been visiting shopping malls to buy food after the Governor of Bangkok announced the closure of risk places for 22 days.

Streets across Laos have been decorated with national and Party flags to celebrate the 65th founding anniversary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) (March 22, 1955-2020).

The Indonesian government recently launched the pre-employment card for young job seekers, part of a promise of President Joko Widodo during his presidential campaign, with a budget worth 10 trillion rupiah (645.16 million USD) in 2020.

Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia, Thailand and Laos have been struggling with the acute respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), which has so far killed more than 14,560 people worldwide.

The Bank of Thailand (BoT) has further cut its basic interest rate by 25 percentage point to the record low of 0.75 percent in an effort to buffer impact on the economy.

Three Indonesian doctors who tested positive for the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) died in Jakarta at the weekend, Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) chairman Daeng Muhammad confirmed on March 22.

Indonesia reported 64 new COVID-19 cases and 10 new deaths on March 22, bringing the total number to 514 and 48 respectively, said a local official.