Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Asia Today: S Korea's cases remain high as restrictions loom

South Korea has reported another new 1,132 coronavirus cases as the resurgence worsened over Christmas week, putting pressure on the government to enforce stricter social distancing controls

Via AP news wire
Saturday 26 December 2020 04:04 GMT
Virus Outbreak India Christmas
Virus Outbreak India Christmas (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

South Korea has reported another new 1,132 coronavirus cases as the resurgence worsened over Christmas week, putting pressure on the government to enforce stricter social distancing controls.

The figures released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Saturday brought the country’s caseload to 55,902. South Korea added 1,241 cases on Christmas Day, its largest daily increase. Another 220 people had died in the past 15 days, raising the death toll to 793.

Around 780 of the new cases were from the greater capital area, home to 26 million people, where health workers discovered a large cluster in a huge Seoul prison with more than 500 inmates and workers. Transmissions in recent weeks have also been tied to hospitals, nursing homes, churches, restaurants and army units.

After months of complacency, government officials restored some distancing restrictions in recent weeks after easing them to the lowest tier in October and are now clamping down on private gatherings, shutting down ski resorts, restricting hotel occupancy and setting fines for restaurants if they accept large groups.

The government will hold a meeting on Sunday to determine whether to elevate distancing controls to the highest “Tier-3,” which could possibly shutter hundreds of thousands of non-essential businesses. Officials have resisted such action for weeks, saying it could unleash further shock on an already weak economy.

___

Follow AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in