SEOUL/MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th May, 2020) South Korea's COVID-19 daily cases have climbed to 40 for the first time since early April amid the rise in cases linked to night clubs in the capital's neighborhood and a logistics center west of Seoul, taking the tally to 11,265, the country's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday.
In early April, the daily increase in cases in South Korea dropped below 40, later stabilizing at about 10-20 cases. On May 6, it dipped to two.
As of Wednesday, the daily rise is back to 40, with 37 of them being local transmission cases linked to a young man who visited several clubs in Itaewon and tested positive for COVID-19 on May 6. In total, the tally of cases linked to this cluster has reached 257.
Separately, concerns are rising over a hotspot connected to a retail logistics center in the city of Bucheon, which is 15.5 miles west of Seoul. A total of 36 cases have been confirmed to be tied to it.
According to the Yonhap news agency, Vice Health Minister Kim Ganglip has projected a further rise in infections linked to the logistics center, blaming it on lax restrictions at workplace. In light of the new cluster, the Bucheon mayor has ordered measures to restore strict social distancing.
Another concern is that 30 percent of people with COVID-19 in South Korea do not show symptoms, which can lead to untraceable spread of the virus, according to the crisis center. In addition, the current rise in daily cases comes as South Korea sees another 2.4 million students back to school. Some cities and towns have delayed school reopening in light of new infections.
The COVID-19 death toll in the country remains at 269. The recoveries have gone up by 20 to 10,295 in the past 24 hours.
The authorities, meanwhile, pledge to go ahead with "aggressive spending" to promote economic recovery, create jobs and support small- and medium-sized businesses as the country is set to unveil its third extra budget in early June to address the COVID-19 crisis.
"The government will keep its aggressive fiscal policy to overcome this crisis and help the economy rebound," Vice Finance Minister An Il-whan said on Wednesday, as quoted by Yonhap.
The Finance Ministry eyes creating 1.6 million jobs in the public sector after the country saw the greatest spike in job losses in April, the news agency added.
