South Korean virus cases spike
EU unveils $825B stimulus package; many young are jobless
SEOUL, South Korea — As Mediterranean beaches laid out plans to welcome tourists again, South Korea announced a spike in new infections Wednesday and considered reimposing social distancing restrictions, revealing the setbacks ahead for other nations on the road to reopening.
The European Union, meanwhile, unveiled a huge stimulus package for the bloc’s ailing economies, as European nations scrambled to emulate South Korea’s widely praised strategy of tracing, testing and treating coronavirus victims, which tamed its outbreak and made it a model for the world.
The EU’S economics commissioner, Paulo Gentiloni, called the $825 billion recovery fund “a European turning point to face an unprecedented crisis.”
The EU move came as the International Labor Organization reported nearly one in six young people have stopped working during the pandemic, warning of long-term fallout that could lead to a “lockdown generation” if steps aren’t taken to ease the crisis.
Across the Atlantic, nations from Mexico to Chile to Brazil struggled with surging cases and overwhelmed hospitals.
In South Korea, 40 newly confirmed cases — the biggest daily jump in nearly 50 days — raised alarms as millions of children returned to school Wednesday.
All but four of the new cases were in the densely populated Seoul region, where officials are scrambling to stop transmissions linked to nightclubs, karaoke rooms and a massive e-commerce warehouse. All were reopened last month when social distancing measures were relaxed.
The country’s top infectious disease expert said South Korea may need to reimpose social distancing restrictions because it’s becoming increasingly difficult for health workers to track the spread of COVID-19 amid warmer weather and eased attitudes on distancing.
“We will do our best to trace contacts and implement preventive measures, but there’s a limit to such efforts,” said Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Seoul and nearby cities in recent weeks have re-closed thousands of bars, karaoke rooms and other entertainment venues to slow the spread of the virus.
As many countries in Asia and Europe make progress in containing the pandemic, reversing its devastating economic fallout becomes a top priority.
Even as the 27-nation EU unveiled its recovery plan, the bloc remained deeply divided over what strings should be attached to the funds, with frugal members such as Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden pushing for loans rather than grants to form the backbone of the package.
The International Labor Organization director-general, Guy Ryder, warned of the “danger” that young workers aged 15 to 28 could face, from the inability to get proper training or access to jobs, which could extend well beyond the pandemic and last far into their working careers.
India saw another record single-day jump, reporting 6,387 new cases on Wednesday as the government prepared new guidelines for the next phase of a two-month-old national lockdown that ends Sunday.
Mexico’s health department reported 501 deaths from the coronavirus — a new one-day high.