More than six million worldwide are now infected with coronovirus
SOUTH KOREA
THE country has reported 27 new cases of coronavirus, including 21 in the Seoul area where officials are scrambling to stem transmissions linked to club-goers and warehouse workers.
The figures announced by South Korea’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday brought national totals to 11,468 cases and 270 deaths. Twelve of the new cases were international arrivals.
South Korea was reporting about 500 new cases each day in early March but seemed to stabilise the outbreak with aggressive tracking and tracing, which allowed authorities to ease social distancing guidelines.
But cases in the greater capital area have been rising steadily again as public activity increases, causing alarm as millions of children have begun returning to school.
At least 108 recent infections are linked to workers or visitors at a warehouse of local e-commerce giant Coupang, which has seen orders spike during the crisis.
Around 270 other infections have been traced to nightclubs and other entertainment venues, which saw huge crowds in early May as social distancing was relaxed.
AUTHORITIES have reported two new cases of Covid-19, bringing the nation’s total to 83,001.
Both cases were imported and in the Shandong province south of Beijing, bringing the number of cases from abroad to 1,740.
Meanwhile a German engineer who flew to China on a special charter flight on Saturday has tested positive.
The Tianjin city government said in a social media post that the 34-yearold man from Blaustein had a body temperature of 36.3C and no Covid-19 symptoms. He has been transferred to a hospital where he will be kept for medical observation.
About 200 people arrived on the chartered Lufthansa A340 from Frankfurt. A second flight is scheduled to depart on Wednesday for Shanghai.
China has banned most foreigners from entering the country to prevent the introduction of new infections, but agreed to allow the two German flights to bring back workers as it tries to revive economic growth after the coronavirus shutdowns.
No new domestic cases have been reported in China for a week.
The country’s official death stands at 4,634. toll
MORE than 8,000 new cases have been reported in a single day, another record high that topped the deadliest week in the country.
The health ministry said yesterday that confirmed infections have risen to 182,143, with 5,164 fatalities – including 193 in the last 24 hours.
More than 60% of the overall virus fatalities have been reported from only two states – Maharashtra, the financial hub, and Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The new cases are largely concentrated in six Indian states, including the capital New Delhi.
COVID-19 restrictions are easing in most of the country, but authorities say they will be watching carefully to ensure efforts to contain the pandemic remain on track.
Deputy chief medical officer Nick Coatsworth said the lifting of restrictions is a balancing act between the socio-economic benefit from their removal and the public health risk.
He said: “We’re taking a deliberately safe and cautious approach. Most importantly we’re taking the time to gather the data over the coming weeks to determine whether it’s safe to move to the next round of lifting restrictions.”
Coronavirus cases remain low in Australia by international standards, with 7,180 infections and 103 deaths.
The more flexible restrictions, which differ across the states, will mean more movement in public places including pubs, cafes and restaurants. But authorities have renewed their call for safe hygiene and social distancing measures to remain.
OFFICIALS have said they will not limit incoming tourists to those from a list of 29 approved nations, but travellers from other countries will be subject to mandatory testing on arrival and a period of quarantine depending on the results.
The policy will only be applied during the final two weeks of June, although Greek authorities left open the prospect of additional restrictions after that date.
The approved-nation list features: Albania, Australia, Austria, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark,
THE country saw a new overnight death toll high of 88, amid reports of acute care bed shortages and further pleas from health professionals to tighten lockdown measures.
The government, however, has kept mosques open, urging safe distancing but not enforcing the rules.
And in a reduction of restrictions, the government has now also withdrawn the limits on congregations in mosques and churches.
The total confirmed death 1,483, with 69,496 cases. toll is
DISINFECTION teams swept Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar and the resumption of domestic flights was announced over the weekend as Turkey prepared to lift many remaining coronavirus restrictions.
Teams scrubbed the floors of the 15th century bazaar, which has been closed since March 23, ahead of