Cambodia on March 23 recorded two more patients tested positive for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, raising the tally to 86.

Thailand’s rice packers warn that packaged rice prices are likely to increase further after domestic rice prices rose by 20-30 percent since the start of the year, mostly due to drought and a sharp rise in demand amid of 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.

Bangkok's Governor Asawin Kwanmuang on March 21 announced a 22-day closure of shopping malls, markets and beauty salons in the capital city of Thailand from March 22 to April 12 amid the worsening COVID-19 pandemic.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi engaged with her Malaysian counterpart Hishammuddin Hussein through a video conference on March 20, discussing the need for the two neighboring countries to maintain close collaboration amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The Indonesian Health Ministry on March 21 confirmed 81 new cases positive for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and six more deaths, bringing the total number of infection cases to 450 and deaths to 38.

Dialogue partners of ASEAN are still committed to signing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement by the end of 2020 as scheduled despite the spreading novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, according to the local media.

Singaporean Health Minister Gan Kim Yong on March 21 confirmed two persons died from the acute respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) in the country due to complications.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, in his capacity as ASEAN 2020 Chair, delivered a speech at an ASEAN-EU ministerial teleconference on cooperation in coping with the epidemic on March 20.

Governor of Jakarta Anies Baswedan on March 20 declared a state of emergency in the Indonesian capital city for the next two week in a bid to curb the spread of the acute respiratory disease caused by novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).