THE proportion of Chinese patients who recovered from the novel coronavirus and were discharged from hospitals continued to rise in the past week to reach 52.1 percent, a Chinese health official said on Sunday.

The recovery rate of COVID-19 patients in Hubei and Wuhan have also increased in the past week, indicating that the overall situation of epidemic prevention and control continues to improve and the effect of medical treatment is obvious, said Mi Feng, a spokesperson for the National Health Commission, at a press conference. Mi said China is now facing risks brought about by the resumption of work and production and the rise of confirmed cases abroad.

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 Thailand’s 1st coronavirus death

Thailand's health authorities on Sunday said that a Thai man infected with the new coronavirus has died, becoming the country's first confirmed fatality from the disease.

The Public Health Ministry said the 35-year-old man, who worked in the retail sector, had suffered dengue fever before contracting the virus.

There are now 42 confirmed infections in the Southeast Asian country, a ministry spokesman said.

Australia’s 1st fatality

An Australian man who contracted the coronavirus on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship has become the country's first fatality from the disease, local media reported Sunday.

The 78-year-old man, who was repatriated from Japan last month, died at a hospital in the western city of Perth, local media reported Sunday.

His 79-year-old wife, who has also tested positive for the coronavirus, is in stable condition in hospital, according to the Australian Broadcast Corp.

The Australian government on Saturday announced a travel ban on foreigners coming to Australia from Iran due to the outbreak of the virus.

S. Korea new virus cases

South Korean health authorities on Sunday reported 586 additional cases of the new coronavirus, taking the national tally to 3,736.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement that 469 of the new cases were in the city of Daegu, the epicenter of the nation's outbreak of COVID-19.

The death toll from the virus rose by one from the previous day to 18, it said.

Sunday is a public holiday commemorating the March 1 Independence Movement against Japanese colonial rule.

Fabricators of fake news

Cambodia's Ministry of Information on Sunday called on authorities to take urgent action against fabricators of fake news over COVID-19, saying that those ill-intentioned individuals are trying to cause chaos and misunderstanding.

In its press statement, the ministry named seven Facebook account and page holders for posting false statements about the COVID-19 with false claims that foreigners infected and died of the virus in the country.

Ref; The Global New Light of Myanmar