South Korea — once grappling with the largest coronavirus outbreak outside of China — yesterday saw the number of newly recovered patients exceed fresh infections for the first time as it reported the lowest number of new cases in three weeks.
The country confirmed 110 new infections, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, taking its total to 7,979.
However, 177 fully recovered patients were released on Thursday, it added.
Photo: EPA-EFE / Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service
South Korea has an advanced medical system widely available to all and has embarked on a huge coronavirus testing drive.
Its stock market was yesterday caught up in global economic concerns over the pandemic, with trading briefly halted on the Korea Exchange for six minutes after the opening when the benchmark KOSPI fell 126.43 points, or 6.8 percent, to 1707.90.
It was the second consecutive day that trading had been halted on the main bourse.
To curb speculative trading, the South Korean Financial Services Commission announced a six-month ban on the short selling of shares on the KOSPI and KOSDAQ.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for “unprecedented measures” to help the world’s 12th-largest economy cope with the outbreak, describing it as “an emergency economic situation.”
The number of new cases in Daegu, the southern city at the epicenter of the country’s outbreak, had declined “dramatically,” along with those in neighboring North Gyeongsang Province, officials said.
Nearly 90 percent of South Korea’s cases have been in the two regions.
However, South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, who is leading the response in Daegu, said that the government “should not be complacent even a bit.”
“The battle against the coronavirus has now become a global fight going far beyond Daegu,” he said.
Each morning, the government announces how many cases were diagnosed the previous day, and figures have this week been significantly less than the 500 to 600 increases the country was confirming early this month, raising hopes that the outbreak is being brought under control.
The 110 new cases announced yesterday were the lowest figure since Feb. 21.
One more person had died, the agency said, bringing the death toll to 67.
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