China's coronavirus death and infection tolls have started to drop over the past week but in other Asian countries, things are getting dimmer, specifically in South Korea.
South Korea Announces 600 New Cases
On Tuesday morning, South Korea announced 600 new coronavirus cases, as revealed by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).
According to CNBC, the KCDC also reported six new deaths, rounding up a total of 28 CoVID-19 deaths in the country. Also, 519 of the fatalities came from Daegu, the center of the virus' South Korean outbreak.
Many of the new cases in South Korea were once again traced back to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a religious group recognized by mainstream churches as a cult due to its alleged secretive ways.
Shincheonji Leader Apologizes to South Korean Public
On Monday, Lee Man-hee, who founded the church at the center of South Korea's coronavirus outbreak in 1984, reportedly kneeled in front of a congregation amid ongoing outrage due to the spike in CoVID-19 infections in the country, Reuters reported.
His apology came following increased criticism from politicians and the masses alike for his leadership's alleged failure in doing more to stop the disease from spreading among its thousands of members.
During the news briefing, Lee said his church "did our best but we were not able to stop the spread of the virus." A member of the religious group contracted the disease and infected many others in the church.
Malaysia Reports 'High-Profile' Negative Results
On Monday, the Malaysian health ministry reported that two "high profile individuals" who were exposed to an infected person have tested negative of the CoVID-19 strain.
Director-general of the Malaysia Ministry of health Noor Hisham Abdullah noted that the two people tested negative of the novel coronavirus on Monday afternoon following reports that they had direct contact with a staff who worked at the country's sovereign fund, Khazanah Nasional.
Multiple local outlets previously reported that Khazanah Nasional confirmed one of its workers contracted the disease and the agency continues to work with health providers to determine which other people were in close contact with the said infected employee.
Vietnam Announces Quarantine on All Visitors from Italy
Vietnam's national tourist board announced on Monday that all visitors from Italy will be put on a 14-day quarantine as a precautionary measure due to the rising cases of CoVID-19 infections in Europe.
According to Forbes, the announcement could put Ferrari on a tight spot as it is expecting travelers from Italy to attend next month's Vietnam Grand Prix. The inaugural race was scheduled for a show in Hanoi.
It remains to be seen whether the new quarantine regulations implemented by the Vietnamese government will largely affect the upcoming race, especially competing parties such as Ferrari and its European rivals.
Aside from Italy, Vietnam also said visitors from Iran, South Korea, and China, will be quarantined upon arrival to the country.
The country said last week that all 16 people who contracted the coronavirus have fully recovered and have also been released from hospitals. The health ministry has not reported any new infections since February 13 as it continues to implement stricter travel regulations.
Japanese Schools Start Shutting Down
On Monday, multiple schools across different prefectures in Japan started announcing temporary suspensions of classes amid increasing fears surrounding the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
The closures came just a few days after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe issued an order for a total school closure during until early April. It was a surprise announcement that sent schools scrambling to ramp up on final lessons.
Among the prefectures that closed many schools are Shimane and Tochigi. The health ministry also encouraged after-school facilities to keep their doors open.
Abe's move came days after the Diamond Princess cruise ship's the operator confirmed that all passengers have disembarked from the coronavirus-infected ship. The government was also widely criticized for alleged flaws in its quarantine methods that saw one of the biggest CoVID-19 outbreaks outside China.
