Hello and welcome to today’s coronavirus coverage. I am Kate Lyons and I will set things in motion.
Today we start with some news related to Asia, where several countries are studying the fears of a fourth wave of the virus.
South Korea will again impose a ban on nightclubs, karaoke bars and other nightlife facilities, authorities reported on Friday, following the rise in the number of new coronavirus cases.
“The signs of a fourth wave of epidemics that we had worked so hard to deal with are approaching and are getting stronger,” Chung told a daily meeting about the pandemic.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun announced the curbs, which will take effect Monday for three weeks, after new daily case counts have risen to a three-month high in recent days.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 671 new cases on Thursday, a day after the daily count reached its highest level since early January, with clusters developing from churches, bars and gyms, mainly in the Seoul area.
Meanwhile a Japan, Tokyo has asked permission from Japan’s central government to implement emergency measures to curb the rise of a coronavirus variant that is spreading faster and is more contagious, just over three months before the start of the Games Olympics.
The Tokyo Pass follows Osaka in western Japan, which declared a medical emergency after its hospitals were overwhelmed by new cases.
Tokyo, which only emerged from a state of emergency on March 21, reported 545 cases on Thursday. Koike said she is alarmed by the rapid spread of new variants, especially one initially detected in Britain.
“It would be a matter of time before Tokyo faces a similar situation in Osaka,” Koike said.