The World Health Organisation says countries must strive to ensure that the "new normal" simultaneously prioritises health and the economy so they can recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Woochong Um, the director general for the Asia Development Bank's sustainable development and climate change sector, said the pandemic would reduce developing Asia's growth to its lowest in six decades.

Um says the pandemic has spared no economy in the region. WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific Dr Takeshi Kasai says communities must be prepared for more case surges in the future. He says as long as the virus is circulating somewhere, no country is safe, and that we must continue responding to the current situation and preparing every corner of every country for the possibility of large-scale community transmission.