While China, the origin country of COVID-19, appears to have controlled its various outbreaks, other Asian countries are raising alarms on different factors affecting the resurgence in daily new cases in several regions.
Surge in Infections Among Teenagers Raise Fears in South Korea
On Thursday, health officials revealed that five high school students in the southern town of Yongin – all friends – have tested positive for COVID-19, raising concerns about the potential surge of cases among teenagers.
In addition, two infected high school students in Goyang were also confirmed on Wednesday, with the mother of one of the students found to be the source for the infections.
The transmissions among teenagers and high school students this week has raised alarms among parents and health officials as South Korea seeks more widespread in-person classes.
An official from the South Korean health ministry noted that due to the evidence that the Yongin students who got infected were spending time together during weekends, "we cannot rule out transmission outside school."
Lotteria Sparks Concerns of Potential Virus Spreading Outside Franchise
Following the announcement that at least 11 Lotteria employees in South Korea have contracted the disease, there have been concerns about the new cluster potentially spreading beyond the franchise.
The queries came after new details emerged regarding the whereabouts of the patients after they were together with their infected manager on August 6.
First, the employees, 19 of them at that time, attended a meeting at the Seoul Gunja Station branch of Lotteria. They later went out to have dinner at two restaurants in the area.
Since the meeting was attended by management-level employees, Park Yu-mi, head of Seoul's public health unit, noted that some of them did not interact directly with customers.
As of Thursday, South Korea has logged a total of 14,770 confirmed COVID-19 cases.
India Logs Record Daily High
In India, an additional 66,999 new confirmed coronavirus cases were reported on Thursday, marking another record-high increase in daily infections in one of the top five hardest-hit countries in the world.
The new record came following 15 consecutive days of logging an average of 50,000 cases daily. The country also remains the third hardest-hit country in the world, behind only Brazil and the United States.
As of Thursday, India has reported a total of 2,399,992 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 47,169 deaths.
International Students in Australia Hit Hard
International students in Australia have been struggling harder as the country continues to see a resurgence in new coronavirus cases.
A new study indicated that 6 in 10 international students who had paid work when the outbreak started lost their jobs and many others have had difficult paying their tuition fees and housing costs.
The study further revealed that around 26 percent of the respondents had either sold their belongings or pawned them due to financial setbacks, and 23 percent struggled to pay their electricity bills.
The news came amid a resurgence in daily cases in Victoria. The country also hit a record high in deaths this week, raising concerns that Australia could now be on a downtrend.
As of Thursday, Australia has logged a total of 22,358 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 361 deaths.
