SEOUL: South Korea reported 571 new Covid-19 coronavirus cases on Friday, taking its total number of infections to 2,337, the largest outbreak outside China where the epidemic began late last year.
The coronavirus crisis has spooked South Korea’s financial markets, led Hyundai Motor to shut down one of its plants and prompted boy band BTS to cancel its April concerts.
The outbreak, which has killed 13 people in South Korea, has also dented the popularity of President Moon Jae-in, a poll showed.
More than half of South Korea’s cases are linked to a branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the southeastern city of Daegu and a hospital in Cheongdo county.
A 61-year-old woman, known as “Patient 31” attended religious services at the church before testing positive on Feb 18, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).
The government circulated a list of about 310,000 Shincheonji members to local governments for checks, vice health minister Kim Gang-lip told a briefing.
As of Thursday, health authorities had contacted 110,000 of them, 1,638 of whom have shown symptoms and would be tested for the coronavirus, Kim said.
Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin said charges of criminal violation of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act would be brought against the church for refusing the release of a full list of its members.
South Korean stock slumped on Friday. The benchmark index has seen its worst week since 2011, tracking a plunge in US stocks.
Foreign investors offloaded as much as 2.8 trillion won (US$2.3 billion) worth of stocks on the main board for the week, posting the biggest weekly foreign net outflow in nearly 9 years.
Hyundai Motor suspended production at one its factories in the southeastern city of Ulsan after a worker tested positive for the virus.
Its shares dropped more than 5 per cent after the news, while the wider market was down 2.6 per cent.
POPULARITY HIT
President Moon’s approval rating has dropped to its lowest since November, a poll showed on Friday, amid growing criticism of his government’s handling of the outbreak.
Realmeter, which surveyed some 1,500 people on Tuesday and Wednesday, said Moon’s popularity fell to 44.7 per cent, down from about 50 per cent before the country confirmed its first case of virus infection on Jan 20.
South Korean boy band BTS cancelled concerts in Seoul scheduled for April in Seoul, said their label, Big Hit Entertainment.
Korean Air Lines said it would measure temperatures of all passengers for flights to the United States and turn away passengers whose temperature exceeds 37.5 Celsius (99.5 Fahrenheit).
A cabin crew member tested positive for virus this week.
South Korea’s neighbours have tightened up entry restrictions in response to the outbreak.
Vietnam suspended visa-free entry for South Koreans, its embassy in Hanoi said, and travellers from South Korea will have to quarantine themselves upon entry.
India temporarily suspended visas on arrival for South Koreans and Japanese nationals on Wednesday, South Korea’s embassy in India said. - Reuters