Fears grow in South Korea as cases show new spike

CONCERNS OVER a second wave of coronavirus are growing in South Korea amid a spike of cases after nightclubs reopened.

South Korea’s government had felt confident enough to reopen much of its economy after several weeks of seeing cases increase by just a handful each day. But on Monday, new cases jumped by at least 35 after the outbreak in the nightclubs, which have been temporarily closed down again.

China also saw a second day of double-digit increases, with five new cases in the city of Wuhan, the original epicentre of the pandemic where a strict lockdown was lifted last month.

A balancing act continues to play out across the world, with leaders starting to loosen lockdowns that have left millions unemployed while also warning of the threat of a second wave of infections.

In the US, government officials spoke optimistically about a relatively quick rebound from the virus. But life within the White House reflected the stark challenges still posed by the pandemic, with vice president Mike Pence “self-isolating” after one of his aides tested positive.

In South Korea, authorities are combing through credit card and mobile phone records, and security camera footage, to track thousands of people who visited a popular Seoul entertainment district in recent weeks.

Seoul’s mayor said 85 infections are linked to the outbreak and health workers are still trying to contact 3,000 people of the 5,500 who recently visited the nightspots.

In China, despite the new cases raising concerns about a reignited outbreak, 82,000 school students in Beijing returned to classes yesterday. And Shanghai Disneyland, closed since January, reopened with reservations required and social distancing in place. Visitors wearing masks were checked for temperatures at the gate. US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin predicted the American economy would rebound in the second half of this year from unemployment rates that rival the Great Depression. Another 3.2m US workers applied for jobless benefits last week, bringing the total over the last seven weeks to 33.5m.