Coronavirus cases ‘exploding across much of Asia’

Health workers in personal protective equipment sanitise a train prepared as a Covid-19 care centre at a railway station in Gauhati, India (Anupam Nath/AP)

Coronavirus cases are exploding in Asia and the Pacific, with over 5.9 million new confirmed infections in the past two weeks, more than in all other regions combined, the International Federation of the Red Cross said.

It warned that the surge is pushing hospitals and health systems to the brink of collapse.