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In the East Asian region consisting of China, the Koreas and Japan, there has been a recent outbreak in infections from the pathogen. China has reported 17 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. Usually, Beijing declares that these cases are brought in from abroad and are contained.
But, the last announcement stated that only three cases out of the 17 were from abroad.
In the past week, South Korea officially announced that it was experiencing a coronavirus second wave.
Authorities in the country confirmed 40 new infections, in the last 24 hours.
Head of the Korea Centre for Disease Control (KCDC), Doctor Jeong Eun-kyeong announced last Monday that a cluster of new cases has grown, particularly in the capital Seoul.
Doctor Jeong said the recent resurgence of the virus in Seoul had led her to confirm that a second wave was emerging in the country.
She said that she expected cases to rise.
It is not only Seoul that has seen an emergence of new cases.
The southern city of Daejeon has announced it would reintroduce bans on outdoor gatherings.
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This includes closing museums, libraries and public spaces.
The capital of Seoul has re-introduced social distancing measures.
These are all a further sign that the country is slipping back into strict lockdown conditions.
Observers from the UK will look at the situation in South Korea with apprehension that a similar second wave may emerge in Britain, possibly in October.
A second wave in the autumn time would coincide with the beginning of flu season, only to exasperate the pressure on the NHS.
The infection rate in Japan was 291 two weeks ago, but it then rose to 407 last week and has reached more than 500 this week.
This has led experts in Japan to fear the world’s third-biggest economy is slipping into a second wave.
Although cases in Japan continue to rise, experts are reticent to declare a second wave.
Koji Wada, a professor of public health at the International University of Health and Welfare in Tokyo and a member of the government’s coronavirus panel said: “We don’t even know if what happened in Japan was the first wave.
“An outbreak could happen at any time.
“The precautions we take now will determine what happens next.”
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