South Korea warned Sunday of the possibility of a second wave of COVID-19 infections.
“It's not over until it's over," President Moon Jae-in told the nation Sunday as it reported new coronavirus infections at a one-month high.
The spike in cases comes as South Korea had begun easing some pandemic restrictions, including reopening bars and nightclubs.
South Korea since shut down more than 2,100 bars and other establishments in Seoul after the new cases were linked to people who frequented nightclubs last weekend. Many of the infections were traced to a 29-year-old man who went to three nightclubs before testing positive.
Schools in South Korea were scheduled to begin reopening this week, but that may be delayed after the new outbreaks while officials say probes into the new cases would determine the next steps.
China also reported fourteen new cases Sunday — the first double digit rise in ten days.
Germany, which began easing social restrictions last week, has seen some regional spikes in cases, particularly in nursing homes and slaughterhouses.
Spain, France and the United States are among the countries that are slowly reopening parts of their economies.
Worldwide, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases has surpassed 4 million. The global death tally is nearly 280,000, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics.
The U.S. leads the world in the number of cases and deaths from the virus. More than 1.3 million people in the U.S. have been infected and nearly 80,000 people have died.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama says current U.S. President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has been “an absolute chaotic disaster.”
In a conference call with former staff members, Obama said, “It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset of ‘what’s in it for me’ and ‘to heck with everybody else’ — when that mindset is operationalized in our government.”
