Local COVID-19 cases see 2-week high in South Korea

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - South Korea on Thursday reported a two-week record in local cases of the novel coronavirus, local media reported.

Health officials said the country reported 50 new cases, including 44 local infections, according to the Seoul-based Yonhap news agency.

New cases were reported in clusters outside the capital.

The country has reported 12,904 cases so far, along with 282 coronavirus-related deaths.

No deaths were reported among South Koreans aged 29 and below, the report said.

South Korea has conducted 1,295,962 tests since Jan. 3 to detect the illness.

Health authorities are reportedly planning to provide Remdesivir to two local COVID-19 patients later on Thursday.

Though there is no specific medical treatment for the coronavirus, patients have been shown to respond positively to the drug.

Meanwhile, China reported three more coronavirus cases on Thursday.

One local case was reported in the capital Beijing.

China has reported a total 83,537 cases and 4,634 deaths since the outbreak of the virus last December in Wuhan city, the capital of the central Hubei province, from where it spread to at least 188 countries and territories.

The pandemic has killed more than 516,000 people worldwide, with over 10.6 million confirmed cases, while recoveries have surpassed 5.4 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.