South Korea's exports of masks up 9-fold in January

South Korea's outbound shipments of protective masks surged nearly ninefold in January from a year earlier amid the coronavirus outbreak, data showed Wednesday.

Exports of textile articles, which include masks, came to US$72.6 million in January, up from $8.29 million a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association.

The amount is roughly equal to 90 percent of South Korea's textile product exports for the whole of 2019, which came to $80.9 million. While the segment does not necessarily only include protective masks, industry watchers say the increase was apparently driven solely by the product, considering the figures were almost unchanged over previous years.

China, the epicenter of the global COVID-19 epidemic, accounted for 85 percent of the volume, with exports to the world's second-largest economy jumping to $61.3 million in January, compared with $820,000 a year earlier.

The figure is expected to decline after South Korea made a belated decision last week to limit mask exports to a maximum of 10 percent of its total output before imposing a full export ban.

South Korea is currently working to increase its daily mask output from 10m to at least 13m. The country last week approved a plan to distribute 50 percent of its protective masks through public retail platforms to meet the soaring demand. The government hinted it is considering raising the quota to up to 80pc.

South Korea has so far reported nearly 5,200 COVID-19 infections since its first virus case on Jan. 20.

South Korea reported 476 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections here to 4,212, as the nation provides an "all-out response" to the fast-spreading virus that includes a massive testing program. So far, 22 people, mostly ones with underlying illnesses, have died in South Korea from the respiratory virus that emerged in China.

About 60 percent of confirmed cases have been linked to a branch of Shincheonji religious sect in the southeastern city of Daegu. Of the 476 new cases, 377 are in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and 68 are in neighboring North Gyeongsang Province, according to the

Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The total number of cases in Daegu and North Gyeongsang stood at 3,081 and 624, respectively.

The update was based on the number of virus patients tallied at midnight. Previously, a morning update had been based on the number tallied at 9:00 a.m. on the day, but health authorities changed it to help front- line health workers spend more time battling the virus.

The second update, to be posted afternoon, will be based on the number tallied between Sunday midnight and 4:00 p.m., officials said.

Other major provinces and cities have also reported some infections, with Seoul's confirmed cases rising by four to 91.

The virus cases in Busan rose by five to 88, and Seoul's neighboring Gyeonggi Province saw its total cases climb by three to 92. The total number of cases in South Chungcheong Province rose by 10 to 78.

With virus patients in Daegu skyrocketing, the city's hospitals have been overwhelmed and an increasing number of doctors and nurses in the city have been vulnerable to infection.