The cases of new coronavirus in South Korea multiply every day. South Korean authorities reported 52 new infections on Friday, a figure similar to the previous day (53), which raise the total number of patients from Covid-19 to 156.
The South Korean Prime Minister, Chung Sye-kyun, described the situation in the country as an "emergency" and said that measures against the spread of the virus will be reinforced. South Korea has become in just two days the second largest focus of infections after Japan. In the latter country, however, the high number of cases is due to the more than 620 infections on board a cruise ship anchored in the port of Yokohama.
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Of the new 52 contagions in South Korea, 41 have emerged in Daegu, a city of 2.5 million inhabitants located 240 kilometers southeast of the capital, Seoul. Up to 39 of the 41 infected are parishioners who attended a service last Sunday at the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, belonging to the Shincheonji Church (New Heaven and New Earth), according to Yonhap. It is a kind of religious sect founded in 1984 by South Korean Lee Man-hee, considered by the group to be an envoy of Jesus Christ.
It is believed that the origin of the outbreak is a 61-year-old woman, described as "patient 31" and what the health authorities define as a "supercontainer." In total, about 100 infected people have links with this patient. This Friday, still more than 400 members of the temple, which has been closed, show symptoms and are being examined, according to the mayor of the city.
South Korea on Thursday confirmed the first fatality due to the coronavirus, a man from Cheongdo County, bordering Daegu. "Patient 31" had also visited Cheongdo.
Accordingly, South Korean authorities have declared Daegu, the fourth largest city in the country, and Cheongdo "special care areas," and have asked their neighbors to stay in their homes. "It is urgent to find people who have been in contact with those infected," said the prime minister. He also stressed that the Government is preparing more beds in hospitals and increasing medical equipment and personnel to prepare for the local spread of the virus.
"Until now, the Government had focused on curbing infections that come from outside, but now the priority is to prevent the virus from spreading locally," he added.
New rebound of cases in China
The National Health Commission of China reported this Friday of 892 new infections and 118 deaths, one day after the lowest number of infections was recorded in a day (394) since the blockade of Wuhan, epicenter of the epidemic, 23 from January.
Up to 411 of the new cases and 115 of the last deaths have taken place in Hubei, province to which Wuhan belongs. In total, the fatalities amount to 2,239 and the infections to 75,567. For the first time, the number of patients recovered in one day exceeds 2,000, reaching 2019 this Friday.
Hubei authorities changed the diagnostic criteria again on Wednesday, including only those affected by a nucleic acid test as affected. The previous week they had also decided to integrate patients who had signs of pneumonia in examinations of scanners by tomography, which made the cases multiply in 10 days.
Last landing day of the Diamond Princess
Hundreds of passengers from the Diamond Princess, the cruise ship anchored in the Japanese port of Yokohama since the beginning of February following the discovery of a case of coronavirus, leave the ship on Friday. This is the last landing day scheduled by the Japanese authorities, after completing the two-week quarantine imposed on the more than 3,700 people on board.
In this period, more than 620 have been infected, raising criticism about Japanese management. Many passengers, of more than 50 nationalities, will have to make a new quarantine on their return to their countries. The Japanese, about half of the passage, may instead return to their homes without restrictions. For their part, crew members who are still on the ship (more than 1,000 initially, although many were infected and are in hospitals) will start a new quarantine after the last passenger disembarks.
