South Korea reported two more deaths from the new coronavirus and another spike in the number of infections on Sunday as the country fights to rein in the rapid spread of the deadly disease.
(Yonhap)
As of Sunday morning, the number of infections had surged overnight by 123 to 556, with most of the new cases traced to the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of deaths from COVID-19 rose to five, with two more deaths reported Sunday.
Cases of the disease have skyrocketed here in the past few days, having seen a tenfold increase from 51 on Wednesday to 556 as of 9 a.m. Sunday. The death rate in Korea from COVID-19 stands at 0.7 percent.
Out of the 556 infections, 306 cases, or 55.6 percent, have been traced to the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church and 111 cases were linked to the Daenam hospital in Cheongdo. Three of the five deaths were linked to the hospital.
Seven of the patients were in critical condition as of Sunday afternoon, the KCDC said.
Of 123 new cases confirmed Sunday morning, 75 were tied to the church, with 63 of them being Daegu residents. Health authorities are trying to identify the infection routes for the rest of the patients.
The KCDC said it is checking the health status of 9,336 members of the religious group, with the members being placed in self-isolation. More than 1,200 people on the list reportedly said they had suspicious symptoms, and 293 of those people got tested for the virus. Some 61 doctors were dispatched to carry out virus screening tests for the rest of them by Monday, the agency said.
A 4-year-old girl was diagnosed with the coronavirus in Daegu on Sunday. She is youngest patient in the country so far.
Though most of those infected with the virus, 465 people, have been from Daegu or North Gyeongsang Province, cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in nearly every part of the country over the weekend, including Busan, Ulsan, Jeju Island and Gangwon Province.
In Seoul, a second case was confirmed at Eunpyeong St. Mary’s Hospital on Sunday morning. The 63-year-old male patient is thought to have contracted the virus from a 35-year-old hospital worker, who tested positive Friday. That hospital worker came into contact with 302 people, according to the health agency.
Ulsan is also on alert as a 27-year-old woman, at the center of the first confirmed case in the city, joined a service Feb. 9 at the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, and another at the Ulsan branch on Feb. 16. The municipality said it will check church members’ infection status.
In Busan, the number of those infected with the virus rose by 11 to 16 as of Sunday morning, with eight of them linked to a church in Busan. The patients went on a two-day workshop in a group of about 150, according to the Busan City government.
In Gwangju, seven more people were infected with the virus. All those cases have been traced to the Shincheonji Church in Daegu.
North Gyeongsang Province reported 18 more infections. Those infected had made a group pilgrimage to Israel earlier this month and were later confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus. The church was shut down and those who visited the church were advised to go into self-isolation.
Daegu and Cheongdo were designated as “special care zones” Friday.
Some 6,039 people are awaiting test results, and 18 people have been released after making full recoveries as of Sunday morning.
In a rare public message on Saturday night, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun apologized for the recent spike in infections and reassured people that the virus can be contained if the public cooperates with the government’s instructions.
Chung asked people to refrain from attending mass gatherings, including rallies and religious services, to prevent the spread of the virus.
Despite the surge in the number of infections here, the government said it would not raise the four-tier virus alert level from the current “orange level” to the most serious “red level,” as the virus is spreading only in a limited number of areas.
By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)
Veneza é uma das cidades onde espaços públicos foram fechados para conter transmissão do Covid-19 na Itália

Na Itália, autoridades anunciaram na sexta-feira o fechamento de espaços públicos em 10 cidades das regiões da Lombardia e Veneto devido ao aumento do número de casos de infecções por Covid-19 no país. Roberto Speranza, ministro da Saúde, disse que a medida tem por "objetivo imediato limitar a área de contágio" e anunciou que "a Itália está pronta, pois nos últimos dias elaboramos um plano porque se via que isto ia acontecer". No país, duas pessoas já morreram e há cerca de 80 infectados.

Já na Coreia do Sul, os casos cresceram drasticamente nos últimos dias e o país já tem 602 pessoas contaminadas, enquanto cinco pessoas morreram. Só nos últimos dias  foram reportadas 229 novas infecções e o governo decretou hoje "risco de saúde pública máximo". "Existe a possibilidade do vírus se espalhar por todo o país, por isto é necessária uma resposta proativa", disse o ministro da Saúde, Park Neung-hoo, horas atrás. Com o alerta em nível "máximo", o governo sul-coreano restringiu o uso do transporte público, fechou escolas e universidades, reduziu o número de voos e proibiu a realização de eventos de grande escala temporariamente. 

Outros países que também adotaram medidas drásticas, como cancelar todos os eventos públicos e fechar as fronteiras para cidadãos vindos de determinados países, são o Afeganistão, a Armênia, o Irã, o Paquistão e a Turquia. 

Segundo autoridades e a própria OMS (Organização Mundial da Saúde - em inglês: WHO), os próximos dias são decisivos para evitar que o vírus se espalhe ainda mais em todos os continentes. 
=== Últimos dados oficiais divulgados pela OMS ===
* 77.794 casos de infecção, sendo 76.392 na China e 1.402 em 28 outros países
* 2.348 mortes na China e 11 fora da China 
* Fora da China, os dois países que mais registram casos são a Coreia do Sul e o Japão