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South Korea pledges 'special measures' against coronavirus spread

21 February 2020
12573
2020-02-21 13:20

South Korean officials on Friday designated two cities as "special care zones" while its military confined troops to their bases in a desperate effort to contain the spread of coronavirus. South Korea reported 52 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, taking the national total to 156, the majority in Daegu, the country's fourth-largest city with a population of 2.5 million.

The government will designate Daegu and neighboring Cheongdo County as "special care zones," Prime Minister said at a meeting of senior government officials in Seoul on Friday. The government also plans to send military medical staff, and provide temporary isolation facilities, he added. The newly identified coronavirus has created alarm because there are still many important unknowns surrounding it. Many of South Korea's initial patients have recovered, though it reported the first death from the virus on Thursday.

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