New S Korea cases as kids return to school
SOUTH KOREA has reported 19 new coronavirus cases on the eve of the return to school for more than two million children.
The majority of the new cases were in the Seoul metropolitan area, where officials have been actively tracing transmissions linked to nightclubs and other entertainment venues.
South Korea’s Centres for Disease Control and Prevention also reported two more deaths, bringing the country’s total to 269 fatalities from 11,225 cases.
Today will see around 2.4 million pupils return to school, and health minister Park Neung-hoo urged school officials to double-check their preventive measures.
A new law has come into force in South Korea requiring people to wear masks on public transport and while using taxis.
However people in South Korea, like in much of Asia, have generally worn masks in public settings and no major disruptions were reported.
Health authorities have left mask enforcement to bus drivers and subway station workers, while taxi drivers are allowed to refuse picking up passengers if they are not wearing masks.
Nearby China has reported seven new cases of Covid-19, all linked to people returning from abroad.
Authorities said 81 patients are in hospital with the coronavirus, and a further 408 in isolation and being monitored for being either suspected cases or having tested positive for the virus without showing any symptoms.
Students have gradually returned to class and some international schools in Beijing are preparing to reopen on June 1.
China’s ceremonial parliament is meeting this week, with social distancing and other anti-virus measures being used.
Meanwhile, Sweden’s Government has defended its response to the pandemic. This is despite the Scandinavian country now reporting one of the highest mortality rates in the world.
It has recorded 4,125 fatalities, or about 40 deaths per 100,000 people.
“Transmission is slowing down, the treatment of Covid-19 patients in intensive care is decreasing significantly and the rising death toll curve has been flattened,” foreign minister Ann Linde told international correspondents at a briefing in Stockholm.
“There is no full lockdown of Sweden but many parts of the Swedish society have shut down.”
More than 76,000 people have been made redundant since the outbreak of the disease and unemployment, which now stands at 7.9%, is expected to climb higher.
Sweden took a relatively soft approach to fighting the coronavirus.
Large gatherings were banned but restaurants and schools for younger children have stayed open.