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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korea reported 34 additional cases of the coronavirus on Sunday amid a series of infections linked to club attendees as President Moon Jae-in urged calm, saying ” there is no reason to stand still out of fear. ” “
Figures released by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention increased the number of virus cases to 10,874, including 256 deaths.
The agency said 26 of the 34 new patients were cases transmitted locally, while the others came from abroad. It was the first time that the daily jump has been above 30 in about a month.
Most of the cases in the past few days have been related to nightclubs in the Itaewon entertainment district of Seoul. A 29-year-old man had visited three clubs before testing positive last week.
Seoul Mayor Park Won promptly on Saturday ordered the closure of more than 2,100 hostess nightclubs, bars and nightclubs and urged others to enforce anti-virus measures. On Sunday, the Gyeonggi province, which surrounds Seoul, and the city of Incheon, just west of Seoul, made similar moves.
“The infection group, which recently occurred in entertainment facilities, has raised awareness that even during the stabilization phase, similar situations can arise again, anytime, anywhere in a crowded, enclosed space.” Moon said.
“We must never let our guard down on epidemic prevention,” he said, adding that his country had “the appropriate medical and quarantine systems combined with experience to respond quickly to any group of unexpected infections that may occur.”
Moon said his government will focus all its capabilities on overcoming the economic damage, which he described as “colossal.”
“We cannot survive if we do not turn this crisis into an opportunity,” he said.
Moon said South Korea’s trade balance in April posted a deficit for the first time in 99 months, and that the contraction in the service industry is expanding into a crisis in the manufacturing industry.
He said the government will try to create jobs, boost consumption, recover tourism and promote investment.
In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region:
– INDONESIA SEES PEAK: Indonesia has seen a peak in new cases amid improved test capabilities. The Health Ministry confirmed 387 new cases on Sunday. On Saturday, Indonesia announced 533 new infections, a maximum of one day. The country now has 14,032 confirmed cases, including 973 deaths. Even though testing has increased, it remains a major problem in the archipelago nation, which is home to some 270 million people. Indonesia has so far performed less than 120,000 tests, or less than 500 per 1 million people.
– 14 NEW CASES IN CHINA: China reported its first double-digit increase in cases in 10 days on Sunday, saying 14 had been detected, 12 of them domestic infections and two from abroad. Eleven of the internal cases occurred in the northeast Jilin province and one in Hubei, whose capital, Wuhan, was the initial epicenter of the global pandemic. Jilin shares a border with North Korea, where the virus situation is unclear. No new virus deaths have been reported in China for nearly a month, and the number of people on COVID-19 treatment across the country dropped to 148, with another 798 in isolation. China has reported a total of 4,633 deaths and 82,901 cases.
– MALAYSIA EXTENDS RESTRICTIONS: Despite a sharp drop in infections, the Malaysian leader said restrictions on fighting the coronavirus will extend for an additional four weeks until June 9. The government has already allowed most companies to reopen under strict conditions to help revive an affected economy. But mass gatherings are still banned, with schools, cinemas and places of worship closed, group sports banned, and interstate travel banned. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said 6.6 million people, or almost half of the country’s workforce, have returned to work, and the number is expected to increase. Despite positive results since a partial shutdown began on March 18, he said the remaining restrictions that will end Tuesday should continue to prevent infections from worsening in the absence of a vaccine. Malaysia has confirmed 6,589 cases, including 108 deaths.
– MOON ARRIVES IN NORTH KOREA: South Korea’s liberal president says his proposal to North Korea to jointly tackle infectious diseases like COVID-19 is still on the table, although the North has not responded. President Moon Jae-in told reporters on Sunday that he believes the North is suffering “various difficulties” from the coronavirus pandemic. He did not elaborate. His spy agency recently told lawmakers that the pandemic had curtailed Northern foreign trade and triggered a panic purchase in Pyongyang. Moon said he will try to persuade North Korea to accept his offers for many reconciliation projects after the pandemic stabilizes.
– AUSTRALIA SUPPORTS EU CALL FOR VIRUS PROBE: Health Minister Greg Hunt says the Australian government supports a motion by the European Union for an independent investigation into the origins of COVID-19 in China. Australia has called for such an investigation for a few weeks to better understand how the coronavirus started in Wuhan, China, in order to counter such pandemics in the future. The move has generated a strong response from China, Australia’s No. 1 trading partner. “We support the EU motion that includes independent investigation, regulatory work in wet markets and also the potential for independent inspection powers,” Hunt told Sky News on Sunday.
INDIA BEGINS NATIONAL REPATRIANTS: An Indian navy warship carrying Indians stranded in the Maldives due to the coronavirus blockade docked Sunday in Kochi, a port city in the southernmost state of Kerala. INS Jalashwa, with 698 citizens returning on board, was the first ship to arrive as part of India’s mass repatriation mission. India is also using national airline Air India to bring back thousands of stranded citizens from other parts of Asia, as well as from the Persian Gulf and Britain.
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