South Asia has been relatively lightly hit by the virus compared with neighbours to the east, like China and South Korea, and to the west like Iran and parts of Europe. But measures that have reined in epidemics in China, where the coronavirus emerged late last year, and South Korea are unlikely to work in poor, crowded parts of South Asia, health officials say. Pakistan recorded a sharp rise in coronavirus cases on Monday, up 40 to 94, according to a Reuters tally of statistics from central and provincial governments. India's tally rose to 115, while the total number of cases in the Maldives and Bangladesh rose to 13 and 8, respectively. Around the world, the coronavirus has infected nearly 170,000 people, killing more than 6,500 of them.

Source: Dhaka Tribune March 16, 2020 09:45 UTC