Covid-19 outbreak: Coronavirus South Korea has seen its confirmed cases spike
Covid-19 outbreak #Coronavirus #coronavirus_live_update
South Korea has stepped up measures to contain the spread of the deadly new coronavirus, as confirmed infections rose sharply for a second day.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said it was now an emergency situation.
The southern cities of Daegu and Cheongdo have been declared "special care zones". The streets of Daegu are now largely abandoned.
South Korea has also locked down its military after several soldiers tested positive for the coronavirus.
The authorities have also told about 9,000 members of a religious group to self quarantine, after the sect was identified as a coronavirus hotbed.
On Friday, the country reported 52 new confirmed cases after 53 on Thursday. South Korea now has a total of 156 cases making it the largest cluster outside mainland China and the cruise ship docked off Japan.
Coronavirus Live Updates:
The novel coronavirus has continued to spread around the world, with concerns of growing infection clusters in South Korea, Singapore and Japan, even as the worst of the outbreak remains focused in mainland China.
Death toll rises: As of Sunday, the number of confirmed cases of the virus is nearing 80,000. The number of deaths stands at 2,462. Of those, 20 occurred outside mainland China.
South Korean outbreak: Authorities in the east Asian country confirmed an additional 123 cases Sunday, bringing the total to over 550. Five deaths have occurred in the country. The majority of cases are associated with the Shincheonji Church of Jesus religious group, in the southern city of Daegu.
Global spread: Elsewhere in Asia, both Japan and Singapore have reported dozens of cases. In Europe, an outbreak has been confirmed in Italy, where 62 cases and two deaths have been reported, while in the Middle East, Iranian authorities have confirmed 28 cases and five deaths from the virus.
WHO team in Wuhan: The World Health Organization-led joint mission working on coronavirus in China arrived in Wuhan on Saturday. The city at the center of the outbreak has been reporting less new cases in recent days, but tens of thousands of people remain hospitalized there.
Cruise ship passengers head home: People quarantined on board the Diamond Princess cruise liner in Yokohama, Japan, have continued arriving home. But there are concerns the quarantine failed, after numerous passengers tested positive on arrival in both the US and Australia.
Can outbreak be contained? "We are clearly at the brink" of a pandemic, Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN.
"Our fate is going to be determined by the ability of countries outside of China that have travel-related cases," he said Saturday. "And now they're starting to develop sustained transmission from person to person to person."
"So when you get countries like Japan and South Korea that have these cases that are person to person to person without any real ability to point to where it came from, that's the makings of a pandemic," Fauci added.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/asia/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-02-23-20-hnk-intl/index.html
Covid-19 outbreak #Coronavirus #coronavirus_live_update
South Korea has stepped up measures to contain the spread of the deadly new coronavirus, as confirmed infections rose sharply for a second day.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said it was now an emergency situation.
The southern cities of Daegu and Cheongdo have been declared “special care zones”. The streets of Daegu are now largely abandoned.
South Korea has also locked down its military after several soldiers tested positive for the coronavirus.
The authorities have also told about 9,000 members of a religious group to self quarantine, after the sect was identified as a coronavirus hotbed.
On Friday, the country reported 52 new confirmed cases after 53 on Thursday. South Korea now has a total of 156 cases making it the largest cluster outside mainland China and the cruise ship docked off Japan.
Coronavirus Live Updates:
The novel coronavirus has continued to spread around the world, with concerns of growing infection clusters in South Korea, Singapore and Japan, even as the worst of the outbreak remains focused in mainland China.
Death toll rises: As of Sunday, the number of confirmed cases of the virus is nearing 80,000. The number of deaths stands at 2,462. Of those, 20 occurred outside mainland China.
South Korean outbreak: Authorities in the east Asian country confirmed an additional 123 cases Sunday, bringing the total to over 550. Five deaths have occurred in the country. The majority of cases are associated with the Shincheonji Church of Jesus religious group, in the southern city of Daegu.
Global spread: Elsewhere in Asia, both Japan and Singapore have reported dozens of cases. In Europe, an outbreak has been confirmed in Italy, where 62 cases and two deaths have been reported, while in the Middle East, Iranian authorities have confirmed 28 cases and five deaths from the virus.
WHO team in Wuhan: The World Health Organization-led joint mission working on coronavirus in China arrived in Wuhan on Saturday. The city at the center of the outbreak has been reporting less new cases in recent days, but tens of thousands of people remain hospitalized there.
Cruise ship passengers head home: People quarantined on board the Diamond Princess cruise liner in Yokohama, Japan, have continued arriving home. But there are concerns the quarantine failed, after numerous passengers tested positive on arrival in both the US and Australia.
Can outbreak be contained? “We are clearly at the brink” of a pandemic, Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN.
“Our fate is going to be determined by the ability of countries outside of China that have travel-related cases,” he said Saturday. “And now they’re starting to develop sustained transmission from person to person to person.”
“So when you get countries like Japan and South Korea that have these cases that are person to person to person without any real ability to point to where it came from, that’s the makings of a pandemic,” Fauci added.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/asia/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-02-23-20-hnk-intl/index.html
