Having been labeled as “virus spreaders,” Muslims in the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- about 200 million people in the 1.3 billion population -- are not only struggling to deal with the coronavirus pandemic but also hatred, proven more dangerous than any virus so far.

Two new newborn babies paid the heaviest price of coronavirus-related Islamophobia in India, a new wave that has exacerbated an already dangerous climate for the country's Muslim minority.

Pregnant and bleeding, a 30-year-old Muslim woman suffered a miscarriage and gave birth to a stillborn after she was barred from receiving treatment in Jamshedpur's MGM Hospital.

“I was abused on the lines of my religion and was asked to wipe the blood. I could not because I was shivering. I was beaten with slippers. I was shocked and rushed to a nursing home. There it was revealed that my child had died,” the grief-stricken mother, Rizwana Khatun, claimed in a letter that she penned to The Jharkhand Police, according to The Indian Express.

In a similar event earlier this month, a baby died after a doctor at a government hospital in Rajasthan's Bharatpur reportedly refused to admit a Muslim mother.

A number of smear campaigns have emerged against Muslims across India since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Pro-government channels broadcasted fake videos claiming Muslims are spitting on people in order to spread the disease.

Many Muslims feel demonized and unfairly blamed for spreading the disease after a cluster emerged at a gathering of Muslim missionaries in New Delhi last month.

Sensational news coverage about the event, fanned by some Hindu nationalist politicians, helped spur the trending topic "Coronajihad" on social media, increasing physical and verbal warfare against Muslims.

The coronavirus disease that was first detected in Wuhan, China late last year has spread to 185 countries and regions. It has killed more than 165,000 people and infected over 2.4 million.

The U.S. is the worst-affected country with nearly 760,000 people testing positive, and 40,000-plus dying.

India has recorded 17,264 cases of the coronavirus so far, with 543 deaths as of Monday.

Australia, India, S. Korea ease COVID-19 restrictions Several countries in the Asia-Pacific region are slowly easing restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.AustraliaThe authorities have reopened two Gold Coast beaches along the eastern coast of Australia on Monday. However, outsiders have been advised not to travel to these destinations, local broadcaster ABC news reported.The beaches were closed earlier this month.Australia has more than 6,500 cases of the coronavirus, while 67 people have died in the country.The local council in New South Wales have also decided to reopen its beaches from Monday despite warnings from health officials that the area was a coronavirus hotspot.Coogee, Maroubra and Clovelly beaches will reopen after they were closed a month ago.ChinaChina’s capital Beijing reopened 73 tourist sites.However, officials said that tourist sites should not receive more than 30% of “real-time number of visitors”, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.Among the tourist destinations are the Great Wall sites of Mutianyu, Simatai and Badaling. Meanwhile Gubei Water Town, leaning against the Simatai Great Wall in Miyun District, is expected to reopen on April 23.The officials urged resort operators to promote contactless services such as mobile payment, e-tickets and guide machines to avoid cross-infection.COVID-19 first appeared in Wuhan city of China. More than 83,000 people were infected in the country while over 4,500 other died due to the infection.South KoreaSouth Korea is easing guidelines for religious gathering and recruitment tests after country witnessed steep decrease in new coronavirus cases, Yonhap news agency reported.However, social distancing measures will continue to remain in place.South Korea had asked religious communities to avoid mass gatherings to protect people from getting infected by the coronavirus.It was for the third consecutive day that new cases in South Korea remained below 20.Health officials reported just 13 more cases of the coronavirus on Monday, bringing the tally to 10,674.IndiaWith a population of 1.3 billion, India on Monday allowed “select” economic activity to resume.The selected industries in areas less affected by the deadly coronavirus will be allowed to resume work “to generate jobs for migrants and reduce the distress for those hardest hit by the prolonged lockdown”, local broadcaster NDTV reported.Country is under lockdown to stem spread of the infection until May 3.India has over 17,000 cases and over 550 people have died due to the infection.Authorities will also allow supply of essential goods to local grocery stores and e-commerce retailers while construction work will resume on roads, and irrigation projects and industrial projects in rural areas where no additional workers are required.ThailandPrime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday stressed the need to strike a balance between the battle against the virus and economic benefits of restarting businesses.After a meeting of Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), spokesman Taweesilp Visanuyothin said the emergency decree “is still necessary under the present circumstances”.Thailand has so far reported 2,792 cases of the coronavirus after new 27 were found today.