코로나19 확진자 600명 넘어…사망자 하루새 2명→6명 Our starting point this Monday morning.
South Korea's rapidly expanding COVID-19 outbreak has claimed more lives and the number of new cases is jumping by the hundreds each day.
For more details, we have our Kim Ji-yeon on the line for us.
Jiyeon, the number of COVID-19 related deaths in South Korea tripled on Sunday.....
Yeah, the total number of deaths due to the virus rose from two to six people in a single day.
The third victim was a 41-year-old male who was found dead Friday in his residence in Gyeongju city... and was confirmed to have the coronavirus during an examination of his body.
The fourth and sixth victims were patients at Daenam Hospital in the southeastern city of Cheongdo , where the country's first coronavirus fatality took place... and it's where at least 112 people have been infected.
With this, the number of coronavirus-related deaths that were hospitalized patients from the Daenam hospital has risen to four.
The fifth victim was a 57-year-old female... and is known to be a member of the Daegu -based religious group known as 'Shincheonji' .
The number of newly confirmed patients increased by 169 in a single day on Sunday from the previous day... raising the total cases so far to 602.
Among those is a 16-month old girl in Gimpo city ... the youngest among the confirmed so far.
She's believed to have been infected by her parents, who were confirmed with the virus.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control's central disaster headquarters says more than eight-thousand diagnostic tests are underway.
It announced it'll delay the start of the new school year for a week from March 2nd to March 9th... as a preventative measure.
This applies to all kindergarten, elementary, middle, high schools as well as special needs schools nationwide.
The number of South Korean soldiers that have contracted the virus is also rising. How's the military handling this?
Preventing the virus' spread is particularly important for the South Korean military since it's directly linked to national security.
Four more soldiers were confirmed over the weekend... raising the cases among the South Korean military to seven.
They include a Marine Corps captain in Pohang , an Army sergeant based in Sokcho , an Army corporal in Pocheon ... and one civilian worker in the military who is based in Daegu.
With this, Seoul's defense ministry has identified some seven-thousand-700 military personnel that have traveled to or have been in close contact with families members from the virus-hit areas of Daegu and the adjacent county of Cheongdo ... and Yeongcheon city.
These soldiers have been quarantined at separate locations in their bases... until they're confirmed clear of the virus.
Also, as part of its preventative measures, the Military Manpower Administration said it'll temporarily suspend medical checkups required for South Korean men aged 19 or older to see if they're fit for compulsory military service.
The checkup will be put off for two weeks until March 6th.
An estimated 16-thousand-700 men will be affected by the move.
In an email sent on Saturday, U.S. Forces Korea stated there were no confirmed cases among its forces... but given the circumstances, some sources have told me there are concerns South Korea and the U.S. might not be able to go ahead with their joint computer-simulation based exercises as planned next month.
It's a topic that'll almost certainly feature heavily when the defense chiefs of the two allies meet in Washington on Monday, local time.
Back to you.
#COVID19 #coronavirus #SouthKorea
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