South Korea reports 62 new cases
South Korea South Korea has confirmed 62 additional cases of the coronavirus over a 24-hour period as the Asian country continues to face new clusters of infections amid eased social distancing rules.
The additional cases reported Sunday took the country’s total to 12,715, with 282 deaths.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 40 of the newly reported cases were domestically infected, while the other 22 came from overseas. It says 26 of the 40 domestic cases were detected in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area.
South Korea has been struggling to suppress a spike in new cases since it eased up on its rigid social distancing rules in early May. Those new cases have been linked to nightclubs, church services, a huge e-commerce warehouse and low-income workers.
Australian government plays down reports of permanent $75 rise in jobseeker payment
The Australian government insists it is focused on the next phase of “short-term measures” to support people through the coronavirus pandemic amid reports it is considering a permanent $75 per week lift in unemployment benefits.
The government has been coming under increasing pressure over the drop-off in economic supports due in September, with the Qantas announcement last week of a further 6,000 job cuts adding to expectations of extended economic pain.
With a week to run before the Eden-Monaro byelection, and amid growing focus on the looming “cliff” in support measures, senior ministers have reportedly told News Corp’s Sunday tabloids a $75 weekly rise in the jobseeker allowance base rate was “the preferred option” for changes after the pandemic.
China reports 17 new cases
Mainland China on Sunday reported 17 new coronavirus cases, mostly in the Chinese capital of Beijing.
The National Health Commission said 17 new infections were confirmed on Saturday, down from 21 a day earlier.
In Beijing, 14 new confirmed cases were reported, down from 17 a day earlier.
Since June 11 when Beijing reported its first case in the current outbreak, stemming from a sprawling wholesale food centre in the southwest of the capital, 311 people in the city of more than 20 million have contracted the virus, Reuters reports.
Mainland China reported three new so-called imported cases on Friday, infections linked to travellers arriving from abroad. That compares with four cases a day earlier.
That took the cumulative number of confirmed cases in mainland China to 83,500.
Mainland China reported seven new asymptomatic patients, who tested positive for Covis-19 but showed no clinical symptoms such as a fever, down from 12 a day earlier.
The national health authority does not include asymptomatic patients in its tally of confirmed cases.
The death toll stood at 4,634, unchanged since mid-May.
Coronavirus in Victoria: Daniel Andrews considers suburban lockdowns as 49 new cases confirmed
The full story on the latest from Victoria, Australia now:
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, says the state will consider potential stay-at-home orders and suburban lockdowns to contain several coronavirus clusters in Melbourne, after another 49 cases of coronavirus were detected on Saturday.
Victoria is conducting a testing blitz in an attempt to prevent further spread of the virus. About 40,000 people have been tested since Friday.
“Much like a bushfire, putting this out is challenging,” Andrews said. “Containing it, though, is something that we can do, and [widespread testing and contact tracing] is the most effective thing to do.
“The challenge here is [that] we have to test in those hotspots, but at the same time, we can’t take our eye off any other part of the state. We have to keep those testing numbers up to a satisfactory level so that in trying to track and trace one problem, we aren’t necessarily unaware of any other problem that we might have.”
On a potential return to lockdowns or other restrictions, Andrews said: “no one wants to go back to that unless we absolutely have to”.
Overnight, Victoria updated its public health directives in an attempt to address concern that some people in mandatory hotel quarantine, after returning from overseas, had refused coronavirus tests and subsequently been allowed into the community.
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In other news from Australia: the country is in the midst of a “slipper surge”.
A representative of online shop The Iconic says they have sold three times as many pairs as they did this time last year. Google search trends reveal a similar pattern – more Australians are looking for slippers than ever before.
In early winter, there were reports of slipper-related injuries, nicknamed “Ugg boot foot” – though Australian Podiatry Association president Katrina Richards says that the biggest problems she’s seen have been caused by the transition from house shoes to hard training, rather than slippers alone. “People just go too hard, too soon and you end up getting a lot of overuse injuries,” she says:
Victoria to consider stay-at-home orders after 49 new cases confirmed
The Victoria premier, Daniel Andrews, says the state will consider potential stay-at-home orders and suburban lockdowns to contain several coronavirus clusters in suburban Melbourne, after 49 cases new cases were confirmed today.
Victoria is conducting a testing blitz in an attempt to prevent further spread of the virus. About 40,000 people have been tested since Friday.
“Much like a bushfire, putting this out is challenging,” Andrews said. “Containing it, though, is something that we can do, and [widespread testing and contact tracing] is the most effective thing to do.
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