⁍ Malaysia said on Saturday a November summit of leaders might still go ahead in the capital, Kuala Lumpur.

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⁍ New Zealand, which is hosting next year’s APEC summit, has said already that it will use virtual platforms to conduct the meeting.

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⁍ Malaysia was one of the first countries in Southeast Asia to impose strict lockdown measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.

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– The 21 leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) will meet in Kuala Lumpur in November, and Malaysia says it’s not going to call off the event due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, Reuters reports. New Zealand, which is hosting next year’s APEC summit, has already said it will use virtual platforms to hold the meeting due to travel restrictions and uncertainty caused by the outbreak. But Malaysian Trade Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali said the government has not canceled the meeting of the 21 leaders of the APEC countries that it is due to host in November, even though meetings of other officials will be held virtually. “The cabinet has also agreed not to rule out a format that would involve physical meeting arrangements for the economic leaders’ meetings,” he said. Malaysia was one of the first countries in Southeast Asia to impose strict lockdown measures to contain the spread of coronavirus. While it has eased restrictions on movement in recent months, reopening schools and letting businesses resume operations, the number of new cases has been ticking up in recent days Fearing a new spike in cases, the government is mulling making face masks compulsory in public.