Daily US Times: South Korea has recorded a new high in daily Covid cases, with 950 infections announced on Saturday.
President Moon Jae-in said his country was facing “an emergency situation” and vowed to strengthen testing and tracing in response
He said: “This is the last hurdle before the roll-out of vaccines and treatments.”
Most of the new infections have been in the capital Seoul and the surrounding areas.
The region is home to around half of the country’s population.
South Korea has recorded between 500 and 600 new daily Covid cases in recent days.
Earlier this week, the country raised its level of alert amid a third wave of cases.
New measures include a ban on gatherings of more than 50 people. The new measures will come into effect on Tuesday. Karaoke bars and Gyms have been closed, while restaurants are only allowed to offer deliveries after 21:00 local time.
However, the government of South Korea has warned that restrictions could be raised to the highest level, which would see school closures, gatherings limited to 10 people and all but essential roles working from home.
South Korea has recorded more than 578 deaths and 41,000 cases since the pandemic began.
The country initially saw a huge spike in coronavirus infections in February, after a religious group in the city of Daegu was identified as a virus cluster.
Unlike many countries in Europe and other parts of the world, however, the South Korean government has avoided nationwide lockdowns and has instead focused its efforts to contain the virus on testing and contact tracing.
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