South Korea sees most new coronavirus cases in 3 weeks

Seoul, June 20

South Korea reported 67 new cases of the coronavirus on Saturday, the largest daily jump in about three weeks amid an upward trend in new infections.

Health authorities said 31 of the new cases came from overseas while the rest were locally infected. It was the largest daily increase since 79 cases were reported on May 28.

The country has confirmed 12,373 cases, including 280 deaths. South Korea has been struggling to contain a spike in virus transmissions since early May, when it eased social distancing rules. Most of the new cases have been reported in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, where about half of the country’s 51 million people live.

The new cases have been linked to nightlife establishments, church services, a big e-commerce warehouse and door-to-door salespeople.

In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region: China’s capital has recorded a further drop in new confirmed coronavirus cases as tightened measures to contain the spread remain in place.

Officials reported 22 new cases in Beijing on Saturday, along with five others elsewhere in the country. No new deaths were reported and 308 people remain hospitalised.

One of the Beijing cases is a nurse at a hospital in the suburban Changping district. The Peking University International Hospital where she worked is now under tightened restrictions, along with residential communities in the surrounding area.

A total of 205 people have been diagnosed with the virus in Beijing since the outbreak began last week, with at least two of them critically ill and 11 others in serious condition. AP