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Agence France-Presse

A British woman has died in Bali from coronavirus, authorities said on Wednesday, marking Indonesia’s first confirmed death from the rapidly spreading illness.
The 53-year-old died early Wednesday in a hospital on the Indonesian holiday island, but it was unclear if she contracted the virus before or after arriving in Bali late last month, local officials said.
She was taken to hospital last week.
“We are supporting the family of a British woman who has died in Indonesia and are in contact with local authorities,” Britain’s Foreign Office said in a statement. “Our sympathies and thoughts are with her family at this difficult time.”
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Indonesian health authorities said the woman had serious health problems.
“The patient had severe illnesses including diabetes, hypertension, hyperthyroid and lung disease,” Achmad Yurianto, a spokesman for the government’s virus response team, told reporters in Jakarta.
The British embassy in Jakarta said it was “supporting the family of a British woman who has died in Indonesia and are in contact with local authorities”.
Also on Wednesday, Indonesia said its number of confirmed virus cases had reached 34.
The Southeast Asian archipelago only reported its first novel coronavirus cases this month, as scientists questioned the relatively low rate of infections in the world’s fourth most populous country.




Singapore on Wednesday confirmed 12 more infections, taking the total number of cases to 178, although 96 have recovered and been discharged from hospital.
One of the new cases is linked to Singapore’s largest cluster, a private function held at SAFRA Jurong on February 15 which was the source of 40 infections.
Of the other new cases, eight are imported. That includes five Singaporeans who spent time in France, an Indonesian woman, a Filipino woman and a British woman.
In Malaysia, authorities are tracking about 5,000 citizens across the country believed to have been potentially exposed to the coronavirus at a religious event on the outskirts of the capital Kuala Lumpur, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
The contact tracing was initiated after neighbouring Brunei reported its first case of coronavirus infection on Tuesday, a 53-year-old man who had attended the same event at a mosque between February 27 and March 1, the ministry said in a statement.
“Based on preliminary information, the religious event involved an estimated 10,000 people from several countries including Malaysia,” the ministry’s secretary general Noor Hisham Abdullah said.
“The health ministry urges all who had attended the event to cooperate with health officials to ensure Covid-19 does not continue to spread in their communities.”
Malaysia reported 20 new cases of coronavirus infection on Wednesday, bringing its tally to 149.
The new cabinet under Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, which held its first meeting earlier the same day, imposed an entry ban on all Iranian, Italian and South Korean nationals due to the coronavirus outbreak in those three countries.
Malaysians returning from Iran, Italy and South Korea would be quarantined for 14 days, Health Minister Adham Baba said.


Meanwhile, the Philippines has cancelled crucifixion re-enactments as its coronavirus cases climb, said authorities in the city where the annual tourist spectacle is held.
About a dozen Catholics regularly have themselves nailed to wooden crosses on Good Friday as penance for their sins. The event attracts thousands of tourists.
This year’s rituals were planned for farming villages around San Fernando city, north of the capital Manila on April 10, but local officials have stopped the event to prevent mass gatherings and a potential spread of the virus.
“We are not disrespecting religious beliefs and practices, but we actually are protecting them from the disease that may put them and their family at risk,” San Fernando Mayor Edwin Santiago said in a statement.
Philippine health authorities said Wednesday on 49 people have tested positive for the virus in the country, up by 16 from a day earlier. A Chinese traveller, one of the country’s earliest cases, later died.
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“I’m disappointed,” said Ruben Enaje, a 59-year-old who was aiming to be crucified for the 34th straight year as part of a religious vow to atone for his sins.
“I talked with the village chairman and he said we should postpone it because of the worries that many foreign tourists might come here and we might get infected if some of them have the virus.”
Enaje, a decorator, said he still plans to carry a cross across town to fulfil his religious vow.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s security detail warned well-wishers on Monday not to touch the Filipino leader, who at 74 lists many ailments and belongs to a vulnerable age group for the virus. However, Duterte has said he will ignore his bodyguards’ precautions.
Additional reporting by Reuters


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Southeast Asia


Singapore confirmed 12 more infections, taking the total number of cases to 178, although 96 have recovered and been discharged from hospital
In Malaysia, authorities are tracking about 5,000 citizens across the country believed to have been potentially exposed at a religious event



Singapore confirmed 12 more infections, taking the total number of cases to 178, although 96 have recovered and been discharged from hospital.


Coronavirus pandemic: All stories

Indonesia