South Korea reports 107 new coronavirus infections, total reaches 8,086

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 107 new coronavirus cases on March 14 marking South Korea's second day of more recoveries than new infections for the second day in a row. This might suggest that Asia's biggest epidemic outside China might be slowing down with reporting 110 new infections on March 13 now taking the total coronavirus cases to 8,086. Moreover, in contrast, 204 patients have been released from hospitals where they had been quarantined for the treatment and the death toll rose by one to 73. 

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Since the first patient was confirmed in South Korea on January 20, this is for the second time in a row that the daily number of recovered people have exceeded the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19. According to reports, the latest figures from South Korea have raised hopes that the deadly outbreak may be slowing in Asia's fourth-largest economy. However, officials have reportedly urged to remain cautious as the emergence of new clusters of coronavirus infections continue in Seoul and other metropolitan areas. 

'Please stay at home'

According to reports, a health ministry official told people to “please stay at home” and acknowledged that they might feel “frustrated” as the announcement was made over the weekend. Out of the total 107 cases reported on March 14, at least 62 were from the hard-hit southeastern city of Daegu where the centre of the epidemic is located at the Christian church. Meanwhile, other 15 and 13 were reported from Gyeonggi and Seoul respectively. Both Daegu and Gyeongbuk have also witnessed a drop in new infections. 

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After China, South Korea has the second-highest number of infections in Asia and it has been testing hundreds of thousands of people while tracking the potential carriers of the fatal virus. The KCDC has also distributed guidelines for publishing travel logs of coronavirus patients to the local government, factoring in the National Human Rights Commission of Korea's recommendations in order to ensure that both public health protection and privacy. These guidelines have advised refraining from including private information such as detailed residence addresses and workplaces. 

First detected in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province of China, the virus outbreak has disrupted many lives since December 2019. As per reports, the total number of confirmed cases within China has reportedly hit 80,824 and more than one lakh worldwide. According to reports, the death toll in China has also surpassed 3,100 and the National Health Commission also confirmed more than 11 new cases. The death toll due to the deadly virus across the world also mounted to over 5,500.  

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(With agency inputs)