DAEGU (South Korea): The deadly coronavirus epidemic spread further outside China yesterday with a surge of infections in South Korea making it the biggest hotspot abroad, while authorities in Europe and the Middle East battled worsening outbreaks.
The number of fatalities in China also continued to soar, with 150 more confirmed deaths taking the official death toll to nearly 2,600.
Chinese authorities insist they are making progress in containing the virus, citing slowing infection rates thanks to unprecedented travel lockdowns and quarantines in or near the outbreak’s epicentre.
But a rising number of new cases and deaths in other parts of the world have deepened fears about a potential pandemic, with South Korea, Italy and Iran emerging over the past week on the frontlines.
South Korea has seen a rapid surge in infections since a cluster emerged from a religious sect in the southern city of Daegu last week.
Another 161 infections and two more deaths were reported in South Korea yesterday, bringing the total cases to more than 700 people — the most outside China.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in over the weekend raised the country’s virus alert to the highest “red” level, as kindergarten and school holidays were extended nationally.
The start of the new K-league football season, scheduled for this weekend, was also postponed yesterday.
At the main high-speed train station in Daegu, a normally bustling city of 2.5 million people, just a small trickle of commuters were seen.
A long line of cabs waited for passengers outside the station, and the streets were eerily still,
with masks and gloves standard for the few out and about.
Nearly 30 people outside of China have been confirmed to have died after contracting the virus. Nearly 30 countries have reported infections.
In China, the confirmed death toll stood at 2,592 yesterday after 150 more people died of the virus. – AFP
