After China, South Korea Faces Worst COVID Outbreak; Is India Next?

Image Credits: Pixabay, Pixabay (Representational)

The Logical Indian Crew

After China, South Korea Faces Worst COVID Outbreak; Is India Next?

South Korea reported 4,00,741 new daily COVID-19 cases on March 16, the highest since the country reported its first virus case in January 2021.

  • Whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Linkedin
  • Print
  • koo
  • Whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Linkedin
  • Print
  • koo
  • Whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Linkedin
  • Print
  • koo

After China, South Korea is now facing its worst COVID-19 outbreak as the country hit another milestone, recording over 4,00,000 infection cases on Wednesday, March 16.

As per the state media, South Korea reported 4,00,741 new daily COVID-19 cases, the highest since the country reported its first virus case in January 2021. Most of these cases were said to be locally transmitted.

With new cases, South Korea's overall caseload has now surged to 76,29,275, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

On March 15, South Korea had its deadliest day of the pandemic with 293 deaths reported in 24 hours, India Today quoted news agency Associated Press.

China's Worst COVID Outbreak

China is reportedly facing its worst COVID-19 outbreak, forcing millions to go under lockdown. Witnessing a steep jump in total infections, China recorded 3,290 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, including 11 severe cases.

China, where the first virus case was reported in Wuhan in late 2019, has not officially reported any COVID-related deaths for more than a year.

Meanwhile, in a bid to contain the virus spread, China decided to free up hospital beds as officials on March 16 reported thousands of new cases from an Omicron-led coronavirus outbreak.

Also, China's Jilin province was "in a last ditch battle" against COVID-19, a senior Communist Party official said, as the northeastern region bordering North Korea and Russia accounted for three-quarters of China's total new cases on Wednesday.

The sudden spike in COVID cases has put around 17.5 million residents of the southern tech hub of Shenzhen under lockdown. Moreover, restrictions have been imposed on Shanghai and other cities.

The restrictions come at a time when the world economy is under pressure from Russia's war on Ukraine, rising oil prices and weak consumer demand.

Omicron Variant

The highly transmissible Omicron variant of COVID-19 is said to be behind the exponential surge in cases in China and South Korea.

The variant is yet again posing a serious challenge to China's 'zero-COVID' strategy to contain the pandemic.

Meanwhile, India reported 2,876 fresh COVID-19 cases, 3,884 recoveries and 98 deaths in the last 24 hours. The active caseload touched 32,811, while the daily positivity rate stood at 0.38 per cent.

The central government has stepped up its vaccination drive, allowing the 12-14 age group to get COVID-19 jabs.

Also Read: Gautam Adani Added Most Wealth In 2021, Higher Than Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk: Report

Contributors Suggest Correction
Writer : Tashafi Nazir
,
Editor : Snehadri Sarkar
,
Creatives : Tashafi Nazir

Must Reads