South Korea Steps Up Containment Efforts As Virus Cases Jump To 208; Health Officials Worry As Untraceable Coronavirus Clusters Emerge

By The Korea Herald. South Korea said Friday the new coronavirus is in the initial stage of a full-blown outbreak, but stressed that it is still “manageable,” although the number of infections has almost quadrupled in just three days.

The country reported 104 new cases of the novel coronavirus as of 7 p.m. on Friday, bringing the total number of infections to 208, the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.

Most new infections have been traced to church services in the southeastern city of Daegu.

Daegu, where the 2.5 million inhabitants have been asked to stay indoors, and neighboring Cheongdo were designated as a “special management zone” earlier in the day. The nation’s capital, Seoul, banned demonstrations in downtown areas.

Of the 104 new cases, 86 are in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and neighboring North Gyeongsang Province. Another seven were reported in Seoul, the KCDC said. (Read more from “South Korea Steps Up Containment Efforts As Virus Cases Jump To 208” HERE)

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Health Officials Worry As Untraceable Coronavirus Clusters Emerge

By Star Advertiser. In South Korea, Singapore and Iran, clusters of infections are leading to a jump in cases of the new viral illness outside China. But it’s not the numbers that are worrying experts: It’s that increasingly they can’t trace where the clusters started.

World Health Organization officials said China’s crackdown on parts of the country bought time for the rest of the world to prepare for the new virus. But as hot spots emerge around the globe, trouble finding each source — the first patient who sparks every new cluster — might signal the disease has begun spreading too widely for tried-and-true public health steps to stamp it out.

“A number of spot fires, occurring around the world is a sign that things are ticking along, and what we are going to have here is probably a pandemic,” said Ian Mackay, who studies viruses at Australia’s University of Queensland.

That worst-case isn’t here yet, the WHO insists. It isn’t convinced that countries outside China need more draconian measures, but it pointed to spikes in cases in Iran and South Korea to warn that time may be running out to contain the virus. . .

The newest red flag: Iran reported 18 cases, including four deaths, in just two days. The cluster began in the city of Qom, a popular religious destination, but it’s not clear how. Worse, infected travelers from Iran already have been discovered in Lebanon and Canada. (Read more from “Health Officials Worry As Untraceable Coronavirus Clusters Emerge” HERE)

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