South Korea reports more COVID-19 recoveries than new infections for second consecutive day

SEOUL: South Korea reported more recoveries from the coronavirus than new infections on Saturday (Mar 14) for the second day is a row, as a downward trend in daily cases raised hopes that Asia’s biggest epidemic outside China may be slowing.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) recorded 107 new coronavirus cases on Saturday compared with 110 a day earlier, taking the national tally to 8,086. In contrast, 204 patients were released from hospitals where they had been isolated for treatment.

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For the second day in a row, the daily number of recovered people exceeded that of new confirmed cases since South Korea’s first patient was confirmed on Jan 20.

With the latest figures, South Korea has continued to see a steady drop in the number of new cases, raising hopes that the outbreak may be slowing in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

Of the latest 107 cases, 62 were from the hard-hit southeastern city of Daegu where a fringe Christian church at the centre of the epidemic is located, while 15 and 13 were in Gyeonggi and Seoul, respectively.

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