Overview: Asia developments, Shanghai, Hong Hong, Singapore, Thailand

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now Here's what you need to know about the pandemic right now: Reuters Reuters

 --Stiffening resolve after three weeks of strict lockdown, authorities warned Shanghai's 25 million frazzled residents on Friday that their purgatory would go on until the COVID-19 virus was eradicated neighbourhood by neighbourhood. ...

Offering a glimmer of light, the city government said on its official WeChat account that infections were showing a "positive trend" and that life could return to normal soon as long as people stuck to strict rules to curb the spread of the virus. read more

-- Hong Kong will allow non residents to enter the financial hub from May for the first time in more than two years, a small step in unwinding stringent restrictions which have turned the city into one of the world's most isolated places.

Hong Kong's rules for airlines that carry infected COVID-19 patients will also be eased slightly, the government said in a statement on Friday, with the threshold for suspending incoming flights rising to five infected passengers from three currently. read more

-- Singapore will remove most remaining COVID-19 restrictions from April 26 and ease its entry requirements for travellers, its health ministry said on Friday, in response to a decline in new daily infections.

The measures include removing limits on group sizes and allowing the full return of employees to workplaces, while lowering the Southeast Asian financial hub's alert level for the first time since the pandemic started. read more

 --Thailand will next month remove a requirement for arrivals vaccinated against COVID-19 to undergo a test and brief quarantine on arrival, an official said on Friday, the latest measure to revive its battered tourism industry.

Visitors are encouraged to perform antigen self-tests during their stay, instead of the current "Test & Go" scheme, where arrivals must isolate in a hotel while awaiting the result of a test on arrival. read more