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HEALTH-VIRUS-SKOREA
South Korea reports 169 new coronavirus cases, total tops 1,100
SEOUL, Feb 26, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – South Korea’s coronavirus case total jumped
well into four figures Wednesday as authorities reported 169 new infections,
taking the overall tally to 1,146, by far the largest outside China.
An 11th person had died of the disease, the Korea Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (KCDC) added in a statement on its website — a
Mongolian man in his 30s who became the first foreign national to fall victim
to the outbreak.
Yonhap news agency reported that he had been in hospital in the South
awaiting a liver transplant.
The vast majority — 90 percent — of the new infections were in Daegu, the
country’s fourth-largest city and the epicentre of the outbreak, and the
neighbouring province of North Gyeongsang.
Between them they account for more than 80 percent of the national total.
The streets of Daegu — which has a population of 2.5 million — have been
largely deserted for days, apart from long queues at the few shops with masks
for sale.
Authorities urged the public to exercise extra caution, advising citizens
to stay home if they have a fever or respiratory symptoms.
“The government will mobilise all resources and means” to try to control
the outbreak, Prime Minster Chung Sye-kyun told a meeting in Daegu, where he
is leading the government response, Yonhap news agency reported.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0820 hrs