South Korea reports over 2,300 new virus cases as China numbers slow

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in South Korea has climbed to more than 2,300, according to figures released on Friday.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) announced 571 new cases, bringing the total number of people infected in the country to 2,337, and the number of deaths to 13.

Most of the cases are still in the south-eastern city of Daegu and its surrounding region.

More than half the country’s cases have been linked to the Shincheonji church in Daegu, news agency Yonhap reported.

South Korea’s Culture Minister Park Yang Woo urged religious groups to halt services and gatherings “for a while” to stop the spread of the virus, in comments reported by Yonhap.

Finance Minister Hong Nam Ki announced measures worth in excess of 20 trillion won (16.5 billion dollars) to cushion the negative effects of the coronavirus on Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

Internationally acclaimed South Korean boy band BTS has cancelled concerts planned for April in Seoul due to the outbreak.

China, where the outbreak first emerged, reported 327 new coronavirus infections over the past day, the slowest increase in more than a month, health authorities said on Friday.

The National Health Commission also counted 44 deaths over the past day, of which 41 occurred in Hubei province, the epicentre of the epidemic.

China had indicated that the Covid-19 outbreak may peak in the country in mid-to-late February.

The Foreign Ministry said Beijing was ready to work with Japan and South Korea – where new coronavirus cases have spiked in recent weeks – to reduce “unnecessary cross-border travel” and strengthen inspection and quarantine measures.

Japan’s Health Ministry said two more people had died of Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, including one on the Diamond Princess cruise vessel.

The new deaths raised the total toll to 10 in Japan, including five on the cruise ship.

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Meanwhile, the Hokkaido prefectural government found 12 more new coronavirus infections, which brought the total on the northern island to 66, the largest among the 47 prefectures. Japan has seen more than 930 confirmed cases in total, including 705 on the vessel in the port of Yokohama.

The new cases prompted Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki to declare a state of emergency on the island and ask residents to avoid going out over the weekend.

Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced on Friday afternoon that two more cases of Covid-19 infection had been confirmed, raising the number of cases to 34. Taiwan has seen one fatality; nine patients have been released after testing negative for the coronavirus three times.

New Zealand confirmed its first case of Covid-19 on Friday. The patient, who is in their 60s, arrived in New Zealand from Iran on Wednesday and is being treated in an Auckland hospital, the country’s Ministry of Health David Clark said.

Clark had earlier announced new measures in response to the rapid global spread of the disease.

They included temporary restrictions on travel from Iran, a decision not to allow any exemptions for overseas students from China to enter the country and bolstering the health monitoring presence at international airports.

Malaysia’s Health Ministry announced two new coronavirus cases on Friday, bringing the country’s total to 25. The new cases are a 54-year-old Italian man who had taken a trip home in February a 41-year-old Japanese woman.

Pakistan also announced on Friday it had suspended flights to and from Iran in a bid to prevent the new coronavirus from spreading.

Five Filipinos repatriated from the Japanese cruise ship Diamond Princess were brought to hospital after developing symptoms of the new coronavirus disease, the Department of Health said Friday. Two of the patients have tested negative.

A total of 445 Filipino crew members and passengers of the Diamond Princess are staying at a housing facility north of Manila for a 14-day quarantine after returning on Tuesday.

Beyond China, almost 4,000 cases and over 50 deaths have been reported from 46 countries. Hotspots include South Korea, Japan, Iran and Italy – the worst-hit country in Europe.

The Netherlands, Denmark, Estonia and Northern Ireland on Thursday all joined a growing list of places in Europe to report their first cases of the virus. Nigeria recorded sub-Saharan Africa’s first case on Friday.

(DPA)