Coronavirus outbreak: South Korea reports lowest single-day cases in six weeks

South Korea reported 47 new single-day cases of coronavirus on April 5, one of the lowest reported numbers for the country in the past six weeks. South Korea has now 10,284 confirmed cases of coronavirus with 186 people succumbing to the deadly infection, keeping the mortality rate around 1.8 per cent.

Seoul has been able to draw the attention of the rest of the world with its aggressive measures to contain the virus as several countries, including the United States, are struggling rein in on the spread. Geographically closer to China, South Korea outdid many developed countries in the coronavirus response by acknowledging the gravity of the situation and ramping up the tests across the country.

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South Korea has already extended the social distancing measure by another two weeks, which was due to end on April 4, to contain the spread of the coronavirus. It has largely been successful in minimising the threat from being one of the worst-hit countries when the outbreak spiralled out in China.

During a press briefing, Prime Minister Chung Sye-Kyun said that he had no choice but to further extend the protocol in order to keep the situation under control. He added that the country has, by and large, managed to control the spread at the beginning of the outbreak mostly by enacting stern movement restrictions.

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Stricter guidelines

South Korea has now barred the entry of foreign nationals who refuse to self-isolate and comply with the strict quarantine requirements introduced to combat the pandemic. The Health Ministry announced last week that foreign nationals have to stay at government-designated facilities and those permitted to self-isolate at home have to install a mobile application enabling authorities to track their movement.

According to the latest report, over 1.2 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed worldwide with nearly 70,000 deaths, overwhelming the health care facilities across the globe. The United States, Italy, and Spain are the worst-hit countries due to the pandemic with over 50 per cent of death toll reported from these three countries alone.

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(Image Credit: AP)