By Pizaro Gozali Idrus
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AA) – The number of coronavirus cases in Southeast Asian countries exceeded 4 million, including 78,515 fatalities and more than 3.6 million recoveries, according to official figures.
A total of 25,603 more cases were recorded in member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) over the past day, down from 28,716 cases registered the previous day.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia surpassed 1.82 million, with 50,578 deaths, followed by the Philippines with more than 1.23 million cases and 20,966 deaths to date.
Malaysia has so far reported 572,357 cases as coronavirus infections in the country surged to record levels last week.
In a bid to stem the spread of the virus, the Malaysian government announced a two-week nationwide lockdown starting June 1.
On Friday, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said that only essential economic and service sectors listed by the national security council will be allowed to operate during the period.
* Writing by Rhany Chairunissa Rufinaldo with Anadolu Agency’s Indonesian language services in Jakarta
