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| - Here are the latest developments from Asia related to the novel coronavirus pandemic: China's central Hubei province, where the deadly coronavirus first emerged late last year, is to lift travel curbs after two months under lockdown, officials said. Healthy residents will be allowed to leave the province from midnight Tuesday, while Wuhan, the initial epicentre of the outbreak, will lift restrictions from April 8. China reported 78 new cases of the virus Tuesday -- the vast majority brought in from overseas. Global markets have experienced some of their biggest falls in decades as the pandemic spreads, but Asian equities and oil received a welcome boost after the US Federal Reserve unleashed major new stimulus. The US central bank's unprecedented bond-buying programme to support the American economy essentially amounts to a vow to print cash, a move not seen since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago. Australia's military will deploy to help set up virus checkpoints on routes into the remote Northern Territory, as the region goes into lockdown. The territory -- home to a sizeable Aboriginal population, and some of Australia's most pristine outback --- was effectively closed to non-essential travel from Tuesday afternoon. The country also banned backyard barbecues, games of football in the park and all foreign travel, while weddings will be limited to five people and funerals to 10, as almost all mass gatherings were outlawed. The country's Congress gave President Rodrigo Duterte sweeping powers to fight the virus, including to take over private buildings and vehicles to house or transport the sick, health personnel, medical supplies and equipment. Some 55 million people in the Philippines, which has reported 552 infections and 35 deaths, have been ordered to stay at home to halt the spread of the virus. A state of emergency will come into force in the kingdom from Thursday after a surge in cases, the prime minister said, allowing authorities to ban people from leaving their homes. Neighbouring Laos, one of Southeast Asia's poorest nations with an under-developed healthcare system, confirmed its first cases in two people working in tourism. East Timor, an impoverished, half-island nation next to the vast Indonesian archipelago, reported its first case. South Korea doubled its business aid package to 100 trillion won ($80 billion), with President Moon Jae-in saying it would help "not only self-employed and small-to-medium size companies, but also major industries". At one point South Korea was the country hardest-hit by the virus outside China, but widespread testing and quarantine efforts have seen new cases fall below 100 a day. The impoverished country's garment sector is facing its worst crisis in decades after Western retailers such as H&M, Walmart and Tesco cancelled orders worth over $2 billion, according to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association. The former Portuguese colony followed neighbouring Hong Kong in tightening border controls, with foreigners banned from entry, some residents barred and restrictions placed on others. The gambling hub has been hit hard by the outbreak, with the casino industry suffering its worst monthly downturn on record in February. Pakistan has suspended six civil servants after they posed for a selfie with a coronavirus patient in a quarantine centre, an official said. The selfie -- widely shared on social media -- pictured a group of men around the apparent patient, several of them smiling broadly and none wearing face masks. burs-sr/fox
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