South Korea yesterday reported its lowest number of new COVID-19 cases for a week, as the government proposed a near US$10 billion additional budget to try to address the epidemic’s effects.
Seoul announced 435 new cases, far below Tuesday’s rise of 851 — when South Korean President Moon Jae-in declared “war” on the virus — and its lowest increase since Feb. 26.
The country’s total, which is already the largest in the world outside China, reached 5,621, and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said four more people had died, taking the toll to 32.
Photo: AFP
The government proposed an extra budget of 11.7 trillion won (US$9.9 billion) to improve the country’s infectious disease prevention system and support small and medium-size businesses.
It is part of a 30 trillion government package that Moon announced on Tuesday to address the “grave” situation brought on by the outbreak.
Moon canceled his trip to the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Turkey scheduled for later this month to focus on containing the epidemic, his office said.
Turkey is one of more than 30 countries that have issued entry bans on arrivals from South Korea in the wake of the outbreak.
At least 92 countries have imposed some form of entry restrictions on arrivals from South Korea, according to a tally by Yonhap news agency.
South Korean Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Sei-young was yesterday due to meet the US ambassador to South Korea as part of Seoul’s efforts to prevent the US from imposing such restrictions of its own.
South Korea has seen a rapid rise in infections in the past few days as authorities carry out checks on more than 260,000 people associated with the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a religious sect often condemned as a cult that is now linked to more than half the cases.
More than 4,000 cases have now been confirmed in southern city of Daegu — where the outbreak among Shincheonji members began with a 61-year-old woman, who developed symptoms on Feb. 10 and attended at least four services in the city.
Up to 10,000 people are being tested each day in South Korea, and daily totals have decreased slightly since a peak of 909 new cases on Saturday last week, the KCDC said.
Experts said that the results of those tests could take some time to be processed, leading to spikes in confirmed cases.
Authorities are looking to secure places in hospitals or other care facilities for about 2,300 Daegu patients in self-quarantine — some of them with severe symptoms, others with either mild ones or none at all — South Korean Vice Minister of Health Kim Gang-lip told reporters.
“I urge you to refrain from all possible meetings and outings,” KCDC director Jung Eun-kyeong said. “We recommend that each institution or company actively work online or work from home.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
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