[ad_1]
South Korea reported fewer than 200 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday for the first time in more than two weeks, but authorities remain on high alert after the number of seriously ill patients rose and a new group of infections was identified in a kimchi factory.
The country reported 195 new cases, including 188 local infections, bringing its total number of cases to 20,644, the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. However, the number of patients in serious or critical condition increased from 31 to 154, a new record.
“The virus is spreading across the country, with sporadic clusters occurring in religious facilities, gyms, hospitals and schools,” said Yoon Tae-ho, a senior official at the Ministry of Health.
Indonesia Infections Could Hit 1 Million Despite Lower Official Number, Expert Warns
Among those new groups, a kimchi factory in southwestern Cheongyang County emerged as a new hotbed, with 18 people testing positive. Authorities have removed and will discard 50 tons of kimchi produced between August 28 and September 2.
The greater Seoul region has been subject to the strictest restrictions in the country, including reducing restaurant hours and closing “high-risk” sites such as karaoke rooms, clubs, internet cafes and buffets. Authorities will decide this weekend whether to extend those restrictions until next week.
The measures were imposed to curb the latest coronavirus outbreak and reduce daily increases to less than 100, which health authorities consider manageable without overwhelming the country’s health system. As of Tuesday, there were fewer than 10 intensive care beds available in the Seoul metropolitan area, a metropolis of 26 million people, health authorities said.
The Health Ministry said Thursday that it will spend 100 billion won ($ 84 million) to purchase 500 beds for seriously ill patients across the country by the middle of next year, with the goal of securing at least 110 won by the end of the month. South Korea has 511 intensive care beds, the majority in public hospitals in Seoul and the surrounding regions.
India registers a record increase in 24 hours
A record rise of 83,883 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours has pushed India’s Covid-19 count past the 3.8 million mark, government data showed Thursday.
It is the highest jump in a single day reported by any country since the beginning of the pandemic and brings India closer to surpassing Brazil as the second most affected country in the world.
The total number of infections in the country now stands at 3,853,406 and the death toll had risen to 67,376, with 1,043 additional deaths since Wednesday, the Health Ministry said.
Health officials say that India, the world’s second most populous country, has “one of the lowest Covid-19 death rates in the world,” with a ratio dropping to 1.76% compared to a global average of the 3.3%.
India has significantly increased its tests: 1.17 million samples were analyzed in the most tests per day so far. A total of 45.5 million tests have been performed in total, the ministry said.
Singapore finds new clusters in ‘cleared’ worker dormitories
Singapore has found three new clusters of viruses in dormitories of previously declared Covid-19 free migrant workers, rekindling concerns about a source of infections that has defied the city-state’s containment strategy.
The Health Ministry announced 49 new cases on Wednesday, of which 43 were people living in dormitories. Of the bedroom cases, 14 were contacts from previous cases and were already in quarantine, with 29 detected through surveillance testing, he said.
Persistent infections in the premises occur even after a concerted effort by authorities for months to eliminate the virus through aggressive testing and quarantine. On August 19, the Labor Ministry said that all workers living in dormitories have recovered or been tested for the virus.
The recurrence of bedroom infections means that thousands of workers have had to be put on notice to stay at home again, while some work sites have had to pause their projects to disinfect areas and review safe handling measures. As part of these measures, employers must ensure that workers in dormitories, as well as those in the construction industries, are routinely tested every 14 days, but implementing this has been challenging.
Increase in cases in the Australian hotspot
In Australia, the state of Victoria on Thursday reported a triple-digit rise in new Covid-19 infections for the first time in four days, diminishing optimism that a second wave of cases had been contained.
Victoria said 113 new cases were detected in the past 24 hours, an increase from the 90 infections reported on Wednesday.
Australia has now recorded more than 26,000 cases of Covid-19, while the death toll rose to 678 after 15 people in the state of Victoria died from the virus.
Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, Australia’s second-largest city, is in its fifth week of a six-week lockdown. Authorities are expected to detail a timetable to ease the restrictions on Sunday.
Australia enters first recession since 1991 after coronavirus takes its toll
Prime Minister Daniel Andrews told reporters that while restrictions were tough, moving too fast would cause the state to lose its hard-earned profits. The state reported 113 new virus cases in the past 24 hours, up from a high of 687 on Aug. 4.
“If we open too fast, if we open too early, [virus numbers will explode],” he said.
Although the strict restrictions have helped prevent the virus from spreading beyond Victoria, they have wreaked havoc on the economy with official data on Wednesday showing Australia had entered its first recession in three decades.
Myanmar imposes restrictions on the capital
Myanmar imposed mandatory quarantine and coronavirus tests for visitors to its capital after the country reported dozens more infections on Wednesday and leader Aung San Suu Kyi warned of a “disaster for the country.”
Anyone entering the capital, Naypyidaw, where the government is based, will be quarantined, screened, and allowed entry only if they test negative, according to a government order posted on Facebook.
People coming from the worst affected areas of the country will be quarantined in a facility for at least seven days, per the order of the Naypyitaw Council, while others will be allowed to leave earlier if they test negative.
Suu Kyi said that those who disobey the instructions would face punishment under the Natural Disasters Law, which carries prison terms of up to one year.
“Stricter measures will be taken under the Natural Disasters Law. This is a disaster for the country, ”he said in a video broadcast Wednesday. “If the pandemic spreads widely in Yangon, it will be very difficult to provide medical treatment to people.”
Myanmar reported its first local broadcast in a month in mid-August in the restless western state of Rakhine. Since then, the number of cases has doubled to roughly 1,059 infections and six deaths, according to government data.
Most of the cases and deaths have occurred in Rakhine, where government troops are fighting ethnic insurgents and the authorities have imposed radical restrictions on Internet access.
The most recent infections have occurred in the state capital, Sittwe, where officials have imposed a stay-at-home order and a curfew.
Indonesian rule-breaking masks made to lie in coffins
People who refuse to cover their faces to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the Indonesian capital Jakarta can choose to stay in a coffin for more than a minute instead of doing community service or paying a fine.
Authorities in East Jakarta introduced the unusual measure to make those who refuse to wear a mask think about the deadly consequences of their actions, after daily cases surpassed 1,000 in recent days, authorities said Wednesday.
Jakarta officials have also erected fake coffins with a board displaying daily coronavirus numbers in places around the city to remind people of the consequences of not wearing a mask.
Indonesia reported 3,622 new infections on Thursday, a record for daily cases, and 134 new deaths, the highest since July 22. The largest country in Southeast Asia now has 184,268 confirmed infections, 7,750 deaths, and one of the lowest coronavirus test rates in the world.
Thailand notifies the first case in 100 days
Health officials in Thailand say an inmate tested positive for the coronavirus in the country’s first confirmed case of local transmission in 100 days.
They say the prisoner is a 37-year-old man who was arrested for drug use on August 26 and tested positive on Wednesday when he was taken to a prison health center in Bangkok.
A day earlier, the prime minister had congratulated the nation for having served 100 days without any confirmed local cases of the coronavirus.
Thailand has suffered relatively minor health damage from the pandemic, despite being the first country outside of China to confirm a case in January. But its economy has been devastated by the absence of foreign tourists, whose entry is prohibited, and by the drop in exports.
This Latest Article Coronavirus: South Korea Outbreak Calms Down, But Kimchi Factory Identified As New Group First Appeared On South China Morning Post
For the latest news from the South China Morning Post, download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.
