South Korea COVID-19 total nears 1000 as global cases top 80K

By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews

The South Korea Centers for Disease Control (KCDC) reported an additional 144 confirmed COVID-19 cases since our last report bringing the total in the country to 977.

An additional two fatalities were also reported, bringing that total to 10.

Reuters reports that health authorities said they plan to test potentially more than 200,000 members of a church at the epicenter of the outbreak.

On Tuesday, the leader of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus said it had agreed to provide authorities with the names of all its members in South Korea, estimated by media at about 215,000 people.

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“We have constantly requested the list based on our assessment that it is essential to test all of the church members in order to contain the spread of the virus and relieve public anxiety,” the statement said.

US health officials issued a Level-3 travel notice for South Korea due to the widespread, ongoing outbreak. CDC recommends that travelers avoid all nonessential travel to South Korea.

In China, health authorities reported 508 new confirmed cases and 71 new deaths (68 in Hubei, 2 in Shandong, and 1 in Guangdong).

A total of 77,658 confirmed cases have been reported, including 2,663 deaths.

The global total has eclipsed the 80,000 case mark in 37 countries.



