South Korea reported 800 cases on Thursday for first time in six months; Thailand suffered a record 61 deaths; Australia PM outlines ‘pathway out of Covid’
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South Korea’s daily count of coronavirus cases topped 800 on Thursday, the highest in nearly six months, due to new cluster infections and the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, officials said on Friday.
Reuters: The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 826 cases, up from 762 a day before and the highest since Jan. 7 when the country was grappling with a third wave of Covid.
Almost 81% of the 765 locally transmitted cases came from the capital Seoul and its surrounding regions, KCDA data showed.
The government had said it would relax social distancing measures starting this month as daily new cases hovered around 500 and the vaccination drive accelerated.
But days before the limits on movement were to be eased, case numbers shot up and authorities in Seoul and surrounding areas extended restrictions for another week to 7 July.
“More than 80% of new cases have come from the Seoul metropolitan area for a third straight day on the back of cluster infections from restaurants and private educational institutions,” Interior and Safety Minister Jeon Hae-cheol told an intra-agency Covid meeting.
“We’re extremely concerned the virus would spread further as there are clear signs of increased outside activity among the people, and a rising number of cases of the strongly transmissible Delta variant.”
Hello and welcome today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.
South Korea’s daily count of coronavirus cases topped 800 on Thursday, the highest in nearly six months, due to new cluster infections and the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, officials said on Friday.
Meanwhile Thailand reported the third straight day of record coronavirus deaths on Friday, with 61 fatalities, as authorities struggle to tackle the country’s latest wave of infections.
