S. Korea sees surge in virus cases
Seoul bans large rallies; Daegu mayor urges masks at home
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s government banned major rallies in its capital and declared a health emergency in its fourth largest city as 142 new virus cases were reported Friday, bringing the country’s total to 346.
Most of the new cases have been reported since Wednesday. The increase, especially in and around Daegu city in the southeast, has raised fears the outbreak is overwhelming the region’s medical system. Many of the cases have been linked to a church in the city.
In the capital, Seoul, officials banned major downtown rallies and shut down a big park to avoid mass public gatherings where the virus could spread. Workers in protective gear also sprayed disinfectant in the city’s subway.
And the first three cases were confirmed in South Korea’s 600,000-member military, a navy sailor, an army officer and an air force officer who all had links to Daegu.
Prime Minister Chung Se-kyun said in a televised statement the central government will concentrate its support to the southeastern region to ease a shortage in sickbeds, medical personnel and equipment.
“A month into the [covid-19] outbreak, we have entered an emergency phase,” Chung said. “Our efforts until now had been focused on blocking the illness from entering the country. But we will now shift the focus on preventing the illness from spreading further in local communities.”
The surge of infections in Daegu and several cases in Seoul with unclear infection routes forced government officials to acknowledge Thursday for the first time that the virus was circulating in the local population.
Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin on Thursday urged the city’s 2.5 million people to stay home and wear masks even indoors if possible.
Most of the new cases in the southeastern region are linked to a church in Daegu.
The Shincheonji church, which claims about 200,000 followers in South Korea, said it has closed all of its 74 sanctuaries around the nation and told followers to instead watch its worship services on YouTube.
President Moon Jae-in ordered swifter action to trace down to those who recently visited the Daegu church and a hospital in another southeastern city of Cheongdo, where many virus cases were also reported in the past three days.
Seoul Mayor Park Wonsoon said Friday authorities will close some 3,500 senior citizen welfare centers across the city, saying that covid-19 poses a greater health risk for the elderly or those with existing medical conditions.
The tallies for Singapore and Japan have topped 85 and 739 respectively.
More alarming is the situation in Japan, which has emerged as one of the riskiest places outside China for the spread of the virus.
Japan, slated to host the summer Olympics starting in July, is seeing cases in multiple, unconnected areas across the country and authorities have been struggling to figure out where they’re coming from. The government is being faulted for being too slow to bar visitors from China and too lax in its 14-day quarantine of the Diamond Princess cruise ship, the vessel with 3,700 passengers and crew that’s been under the global spotlight.
At least 636 of those passengers have been infected by the virus and two have died.
While Singapore has more than 80 cases, the rate of new infections has been steady, and 37 patients have so far recovered.
Hong Kong similarly hasn’t seen a surge. That could change, however, with the case of a police officer infected with the virus. He had a meal with 59 other officers, who are now in quarantine.
Some say the Diamond Princess could be a potential powder keg as more than 1,000 quarantined passengers leave the ship by the end of Friday. With people aboard hailing from more than 50 nations and now returning home, their travels could spawn a fresh wave of global infections. On Friday, two people evacuated to Australia tested positive for the virus.
“It’s entirely possible to get tested, be negative and get on an airplane and be positive once you land,” said Keiji Fukuda, the director of the School of Public Health at Hong Kong University and a former World Health Organization official who has led responses to outbreaks. “That’s just how infections work.”
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the WHO, said Thursday that the world has a chance to contain the virus. The risk is that if countries aren’t aggressive enough now to stop the spread, a second epicenter of the outbreak could emerge.
In China, the Politburo, made up of the senior officials of the ruling Communist Party, said the situation in Hubei province and its capital, Wuhan, remains grave.
“We should clearly see that the turning point of the development of the epidemic across the country hasn’t arrived yet,” the Politburo said at a meeting led by President Xi Jinping and reported by state broadcaster CCTV.
The National Heath Commission earlier reported 397 newly confirmed cases in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total in mainland China to 75,862. The death toll rose by 109 to 2,345.