{"id":132260,"date":"2020-12-12T21:16:38","date_gmt":"2020-12-12T18:16:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/south-korea-reports-highest-number-of-new-coronavirus-cases\/"},"modified":"2020-12-12T21:16:38","modified_gmt":"2020-12-12T18:16:38","slug":"south-korea-reports-highest-number-of-new-coronavirus-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/south-korea-reports-highest-number-of-new-coronavirus-cases\/","title":{"rendered":"#South Korea reports highest number of new coronavirus cases"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#South Korea reports highest number of new coronavirus cases<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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South Korea on Saturday reported its highest daily number of coronavirus cases so far, with a surge centred on the capital region sparking fears the country could lose control of the spread.\n <\/p>\n

Officials announced 950 new infections after several days reporting numbers ranging from about 500 to 600.<\/p>\n

Some 669 were reported in the greater Seoul area on Saturday, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, prompting worries about a major outbreak in the densely populated area\u2014home to half the country’s 52 million people.<\/p>\n

“This is the last hurdle before the roll-out of vaccines and treatments,” President Moon Jae-in said in a statement, calling the situation “very grave”. <\/p>\n

“The government will make utmost efforts using the full administrative power” to bring the spread under control, he added. <\/p>\n

An additional 150 testing centres will be set up in areas with heavy movement of people including train stations.<\/p>\n

Officials said infections linked to a church and a hospital in the Seoul metropolitan area, as well as private gatherings, drove up the tally of cases.<\/p>\n

The spike came despite the government’s tightening of social<\/a> distancing rules in the capital area earlier this week.<\/p>\n

The measures include a ban on gatherings of more than 50 people and spectators at sports events. Cafes can serve only takeaways, while restaurants must close by 9 pm, with only deliveries permitted afterwards.<\/p>\n

Despite the changes, “people’s movement has not been reduced significantly”, senior KDCA official Lim Sook-young told a news<\/a> briefing. <\/p>\n

“Infections from personal face-to-face meetings have been continuing… Please cancel all such meetings,” she said. <\/p>\n

Saturday’s figure takes the total number of domestic recorded cases in the country to more than 36,800.<\/p>\n

South Korea endured one of the worst early COVID-19 outbreaks outside mainland China, but brought it broadly under control with its “trace, test and treat” app<\/a>roach.<\/p>\n

It never imposed the kind of lockdowns ordered in much of Europe and other parts of the world.<\/p>\n

The country has previously been held up as a model of how to combat the pandemic, including by the World Health Organization. <\/p>\n

The public has largely followed social distancing and other rules, such as wearing face masks.\n <\/p>\n\n

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Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak\n <\/p><\/div>\n

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\n \u00a9 2020 AFP<\/p>\n

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\n South Korea reports highest number of new coronavirus cases (2020, December 12)
\n retrieved 12 December 2020
\n from https:\/\/medicalxpress.com\/news\/2020-12-korea-highest-coronavirus-cases.html<\/p>\n

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