South Korea coronavirus cases surge as Italy confirms first death from the virus

SEOUL — South Korea reported 142 additional cases of the coronavirus, Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Saturday.

About two-thirds of the new cases have been traced to an existing cluster at a hospital in southern Cheongdo County, North Gyeongsang province. The majority of the remaining cases are linked to a church in nearby city of Daegu, according to the KCDC.

South Korean government has designated Daegu and North Gyeongsang as “special care zones” to which support will be concentrated.

On Friday, Iran’s health ministry announced two new deaths and 13 coronavirus cases, raising the total tally to 18 infections, including four deaths, since the first case there was announced Wednesday.

The spike in coronavirus cases have spurred panicked school closures and border restrictions aimed at curbing Covid-19’s spread.

In response, the Tehran province ordered the closure of all schools on Saturday, which is a school day in Iran, state-run Fars News Agency reported.

In the holy city of Qom, the center of Iran’s outbreak about 100 miles south of Tehran, authorities called for the suspension of religious gatherings and schools and seminaries.

Two more passengers evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship and repatriated to Australia have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the number of confirmed cases to six, according to the Austrlian Broadcasting Corp.

The announcement comes after Australian health authorities on Friday announced four people from the Diamond Princess has contracted the virus.

“We will continue to screen every day and have that very precautionary approach to testing and ensuring that we are picking up early and isolating early anybody who is positive for COVID-19,” Austrailian medical officer Dianne Stephens told ABC.

The satellite captured how concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant released by burning fossil fuels, were down in China during this period – just when the government started to impose quarantines that dramatically cut the use of cars, flights, and freights that rely on coal and other fossil fuels.

Weather conditions and seasonal patterns can affect pollution, but Jessica Seddon, an air quality specialist at the Washington-based World Resources Institute, said that’s unlikely the case here given the stark contrast between the two images. Nitrogen dioxide is also quick to decompose, so it’s typically been emitted where the satellite catches it, she said.

In South Korea, coronavirus cases quadrupled over two days, as 144 members of a religious sect tested positive. In Singapore, clusters of infection have been traced to two churches, a hotel business meeting, a health products shop and a construction site. In Iran, an outbreak has seeded new cases in Lebanon and Canada — a worrisome sign that the disease could be spreading more widely than was realized.

There are outbreaks. There are epidemics. And there are pandemics, where epidemics become rampant in multiple countries and continents simultaneously. The novel coronavirus that causes the disease named covid-19 appears to be on the verge of that third, globe-shaking stage.

A 78-year-old man who tested positive for coronavirus in Italy died late Friday, according to Corriere Della Sera, the country’s newspaper of record.

The death, which reportedly took place in the city of Padua, marks the first in Italy from the virus and comes as confirmed cases in the country continue to climb.

The newspaper, as well as the country’s ANSA news agency, reported 16 coronavirus cases in the country by Friday evening. Earlier in the day, ANSA confirmed the first cases of local transmission of coronavirus in Italy.

Australian health officials confirmed Friday that four people who had gotten off the Diamond Princess cruise ship have tested positive for coronavirus, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Two Queensland women, ages 54 and 55, and a South Australian woman, 24, are among the four who tested positive for the virus, the news station reported.

The 24-year-old woman initially tested negative for coronavirus in Yokohama, Japan, but started experiencing mild flulike symptoms when she arrived in Darwin, the capital city of Australia’s Northern Territory, the outlet reported.

A coronavirus patient in China who was discharged after recovering from the illness has been readmitted because of another positive test result for the virus, Reuters reported.

The patient recuperated in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, and entered a recommended quarantine period at home, according to Reuters.

The city’s public health clinical center told the news organizations that similar cases have been reported in other regions of the country.

Patients who recover from coronavirus are advised to monitor their health for two weeks, wear face masks and limit their time outside to avoid contracting diseases, according to China’s National Health Commission.