COVID-19: China reports most cases in over a month

ANKARA

China reported over 100 new coronavirus cases, a majority of them imported Monday, the highest daily figure since March 6.

According to the country’s National Health Commission (NHC), 108 new cases were confirmed on the Chinese mainland and Xinjiang region over the past 24 hours, with 98 of them being travelers from overseas.

Two more deaths due to COVID-19 were also reported, both in Wuhan city, where the virus first emerged last December.

However, no cases were reported in the city or the central Hubei province.

The NHC data showed imported cases are increasing by the day, as 97 of 99 cases reported on Saturday were also overseas travelers.

The total number of imported cases is now up to 1,378, with no deaths and 511 recoveries so far.

As per the NHC report, China’s overall tally of COVID-19 cases now stands at 82,160 cases -- 3,341 patients have died, while 77,663 have recovered and been discharged from hospitals.

Hong Kong has reported 1,004 cases and four deaths so far, Taiwan has 388 cases, and Macau has 45 cases, according to the commission.

As of Sunday, 360 COVID-19 patients have recovered in Hong Kong, 109 in Taiwan, and 13 in Macau.

South Korea

The decline in South Korea’s coronavirus cases continued Monday as the country reported 25 new infections over the past 24 hours.

According to Yonhap News Agency, this was the second time since late February that less than 30 new cases were confirmed in a day.

The first instance was this past Friday when a total of 27 were reported across the country.

Among the 25 new cases, 16 were people who arrived from overseas, bringing the total number of imported cases to 929, the agency reported.

South Korea has reported 10,537 cases so far and the death toll is at 217. A total of 7,447 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospital.

Meanwhile, South Korea's national flag carrier has suspended flights to and from Washington, following the worsening situation in the U.S.

Korean Air, however, did not specify when flights would resume, according to a Yonhap report.

South Korean authorities have also started testing all people coming from the U.S. within the first three days of their 14-day quarantine period.

The decision was taken after 228 out of 459 travelers from the U.S. over the past two weeks tested positive for COVID-19, said the report citing figures from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Over 1.85 million COVID-19 cases have now been reported in 185 countries and regions since last December, with Europe and the U.S. being the worst-hit.

Nearly 114,300 people have died and almost 435,000 patients have recovered around the world so far, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the U.S.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid