New coronavirus outbreaks have started across China and South Korea, with the latter seeing a three-week high increase in daily infections.
South Korea New Cases Hit Three-Week High
South Korea on Thursday added 59 new coronavirus cases, marking the first time in three weeks that the country saw a significant spike in new infections.
A day earlier, the country logged 43 new COVID-19 infections, indicating a sharp spike in cases within 24 hours the next day. The bigger problem is the fact that 39 of the new cases were reported in the capital of Seoul.
For the past several weeks, Seoul has been battling the emergence of COVID-19 clusters that started early last month in the capital's nightlife district, Itaewon. Since then, authorities have been carrying out widespread testing and contact tracing.
So far, Seoul and neighboring towns have become the center of rising cases in South Korea. The local government has also warned of the possibility that clustered cases may ensue throughout the summer season.
The latest cluster has been detected in a door-to-door business establishment. As of Wednesday, the said cluster logged a total of 176 confirmed coronavirus infections.
Seoul Postpones Swimming Pool Reopening
Residents of Seoul were expecting to have public swimming pools reopen sometime later this month but due to the rise in cluster infections, the metropolitan government said it will tentatively postpone reopening plans.
A final decision is expected to be made next month. However, fear of ensuing infections in the metropolitan area have been hampering government plans, including the closure of some schools after only a few weeks of reopening.
As of Thursday evening, South Korea registered a total of 12,306 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 280 deaths from the fast-spreading disease.
Beijing Cluster Reminds World of COVID-19's Abilities
Before the new cluster traced back to a wholesale food market in Beijing was detected, the city appeared to be getting back to life as usual and residents were getting used to the new normal of social distancing measures.
However, health experts said the resurgence of cases in the Chinese capital should be a reminder to the world of how the novel coronavirus can reappear whenever it pleases.
As of Friday, over 180 people have been infected in Beijing under the new outbreak. Furthermore, a soft lockdown was imposed in the metro sprawling with over 20 million people.
Things have been hectic since the start of the week, with the local government reporting around 365,000 tests carried out in the capital and the emergency response level was raised to Level II again.
New Outbreak Under Control, Health Official Says
Chief epidemiologist of China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention Wu Zunyou said on Friday that the new COVID-19 cluster outbreak in Beijing "has been brought under control."
Wu noted, though, that his statement does not mean cases will immediately revert back to zero. Instead, Wu explained that the situation will ensue "for a period of time" but that the number of new cases will decrease as was the case earlier this year during the first wave.
China's response to the new outbreak has been much faster and more organized as health officials and responders now have a better idea of handling surging infections.
As of Friday, China logged a total of 83,325 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 4,634 fatalities.
