South Korea suffers its deadliest day
Mounting virus cases spur hospital concerns
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has added more than 1,000 infections to its coronavirus caseload for the second straight day amid fears that the virus is spreading out of control in the greater capital area.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Thursday said the COVID-19 death toll was now at 634 after 22 patients died in the past 24 hours, the deadliest day since the emergence of the pandemic. Among 12,209 active patients, 242 are in serious or critical condition.
Nearly 800 of the 1,014 new cases were reported from the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, where health officials have raised alarm about a looming shortage in hospital capacities. Thursday marked the 40th consecutive day of triple digit daily jumps, which brought the national caseload to 46,453.
The viral resurgence came after months of pandemic fatigue, complacency and government efforts to breathe life into a sluggish economy.
Officials are mulling whether to raise social distancing restriction to maximum levels, which could include bans on gatherings of more than 10 people, shutting tens of thousands of businesses deemed nonessential and requiring companies to have more employees work from home.
In other developments:
■ U.N. Secretary-general Antonio Guterres is appealing to rich nations to support the purchase of coronavirus vaccines for poor countries. Guterres said the U.n.-backed COVAX program needs $5 billion until the end of January. The program, created to ensure access to COVID-19 vaccines for all countries, faces a shortfall of more than $20 billion, he said.
■ The mayor of Bethlehem on Thursday said Christmas celebrations in the birthplace of Jesus will be limited to just a handful of people this year as Palestinian officials announced a strict new lockdown across the West Bank due to a soaring coronavirus outbreak. In an interview, Mayor Anton Salman said his town would hold its traditional welcoming ceremony for the Latin Patriarch, who is usually greeted by children’s marching bands as he arrives from nearby Jerusalem. But he said the scout bands would be limited only to local residents because of the new lockdown restrictions.
■ Pope Francis is calling for the money used for defense budgets and nuclear weapons to bolster health care systems and fight poverty in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Francis dedicated his annual peace message, released Thursday, to increasing a “culture of care” at local and national levels to build a more just world.
■ The EU’S top official said the COVID-19 vaccination campaign across the bloc will start on Dec. 27 if the the Biontech/Pfizer vaccine is approved by the EU regulator next week.
■ Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout has received a wary, mixed response. There are reports of empty Moscow clinics that offered the shot to health care workers and teachers, who have been designated as the first to receive the vaccine.