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SOUTH KOREA CONFIRMED 52 more cases of coronavirus today, making it the worst-affected country outside China.
Thirty-nine of the new cases were connected to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the southern city of , the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said, taking the country’s overall figure to 156.
More than 80 members of Shincheonji have now been infected, starting with a 61-year-old woman who developed a fever on 10 February but attended at least four church services before being diagnosed.
The mayor of Daegu - South Korea’s fourth-biggest city, with a population of over 2.5 million – has advised locals to stay indoors, while access to a major US military base in the area has been restricted.
The streets remained active with most people wearing masks, but many businesses were closed due to the outbreak.
Workers on motorcycles sprayed disinfectant outside the Shincheonji church in the city, where passer-by Seo Dong-min, 24, told AFP: “With so many confirmed cases here I’m worried that Daegu will become the second Wuhan.”
The Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said one more virus case had been confirmed at a hospital in Cheongdo county near Daegu where a total of 16 infections have now been identified, including a long-stay patient who died on Wednesday after showing symptoms of pneumonia.
Cheongdo is the birthplace of Shincheonji’s founder Lee, and county officials said a three-day funeral was held for his brother three weeks ago at a hall owned by the hospital.
President Moon Jae-in called for a “thorough investigation” of everyone who attended the funeral and Shincheonji services.
“If you simply rely on the information provided by the church, the process can be slow,” he told a cabinet meeting.
“We need faster measures.”
The central government today declared Daegu and Cheongdo “special management zones”.
Seoul will support the region with medical personnel, beds and equipment, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said, and the cabinet will meet three times a week to discuss the outbreak.
The US army base in Daegu – where around 10,000 soldiers, civilians and family members live or work – has restricted access and instructed any American troops who recently attended Shincheonji services to self-quarantine.
“Travel in and around Daegu is highly discouraged unless absolutely necessary,” the base said in a Facebook post.
“Please avoid public places and public transportation, to include stores, restaurants, subways and other heavily congested areas.”
Shincheonji has closed all its facilities nationwide.
“We are deeply sorry that because of one of our members, who thought of her condition as a cold because she had not travelled abroad, led to many in our church being infected and thereby caused concern to the local community,” it said in a statement.
UK
Dozens of UK citizens who have been trapped on a coronavirus-hit cruise ship in Japan are set to fly home today after the UK government sent a plane to repatriate them.
Around 70 people who have been held in quarantine on the Diamond Princess are due to land at Boscombe Down Ministry of Defence base near Salisbury, Wiltshire, in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Two Irish citizens, a couple with dual citizenship, have been diagonosed with coronavirus. They were were both on the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
With reporting from Press Association
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Customers can already self exclude and need to be 18 to enter a betting shop. A total BAN on the ” virtual product” including all racing ( horses, cars, dogs, bikes, football) and numbers generated games like the bingo and roulette needs to introduced. Most of the major shops in this country are making their huge profit in theses areas of gambling. As a former employee of 15 years ive seen with my own eyes the problems people have with it.
@andrew sutton: much of what you say is true.I do believe that the consultation of people who were in the industry be seriously considered.I somehow doubt that they will consider such consultation feasible.Legislation appears for discussion regularly in the dail that seems to be the product of virtual research,take the HSE as an example…..Let’s ask a lot of administrative people the best way to utilise nurses and junior doctors. We all know how that works out.
You are 100% right Andrew, plus with the self exclude all the responsability is put on the customer and the bookies take none. They pray on the lower class areas, look at the amount of bookies in and around the Henary street area compard to Graffton street. Paddy Power have 8 shop’s within an half mile of the spike .
Why is the national lottery excluded? They made it even more of a mugs game by upping prices and increasing the number of balls this year. Scratch cards need to be included
Absolutely dave , also ” amusement ” arcades , the amount of under 25s losing their proverbials in these places is nauseating .
As a person who likes a bet every couple of weeks think it would be a good idea to get rid of online gambling with credit/visa cards.Let people top up in the betting shops with their customer cards and then use that to log on and bet online if they wish.All they can then bet is whats on their account.We all think alot more about what we spend when we see the money in our hands before its passed over the counter.Far to easy to bet online as it almost doesn’t feel like real money if that makes sense.
Maybe even a national betting card with a limit. You put in you’re code and once you have gone over you’re monthly amount you cant gamble any more.
@Jim: Sounds like a thoroughly Irish solution, we should do the same with alcohol, cigarettes, fast food, luxury goods. Don’t mind that thousands of people do it every day without a problem. Lets screw everyone because of the few that take it too far.
Spot on John
To be fair John, If you’re betting every day then it’s safe to say it is a problem.And it’s more than a few that take it too far.Its too easy to conceal a gambling addiction whereas with drink, cigarettes and drugs the signs are generally obvious.
All it takes is one look at the clientele who attend the bookies on a regular basis to know it’s a losers game. The wealth of Paddy Powers alone should get the message through.
you are a moron if you are judging people by their looks and how regular they attend a bookmakers. having worked in many some years ago and known the clientele personally i can verify there is a wide array of people who frequent these eatablishments.
@Scundered: interesting comment.You should read the article above,it is close to the subject you seem to be commenting on.
That is the point of the comments section….Read article and then express a view.
As an aside ,I doubt very much if you are a stranger to a bookies.There is more than a little latent bitterness in your ‘comment’.
As the saying goes ‘The house always wins.’ If they didn’t, as you rightly point out they wouldn’t be in business long.
The government appears to be dragging out this much needed legislation. Self exclusion has been around for quite a while,5 years or so.Some of the practices employed by the online companies are criminal,almost.They will take a lot of study and I personally do not feel this government is committed to the completion of this legislation in any reasonable time frame. It is a cash cow and tax revenue will always trump social needs regardless of the damage to members of society.
Over 10 years ago, a Fine Gael senator attempted to introduce a Private Members Bill that would have closed off the availability of the Tote at racecourses and dog tracks to under 18′s.
The Bill was supported by Gamblers Anonymous but the Fianna Fáil led Government opposed it.
The same Senator became Leader of the House in the previous administration but chose not to prevail on the Cabinet to change the law.
Under age gambling is illegal in bookies shops and also National Lottery products yet every day youngsters attending horse and dog meetings are entitled to bet courtesy of the State-sanctioned Tote cartel. Go figure.
@Vincent Jennings: In fairness if under 18s are placing bets at race tracks etc its not upto the government to stop them. Parents have to take some responsibility here.
Paddy power will let u bet and bet but as soon as you try to withdraw money it then closes you’re account and then looks for I’d. It should be id first
In 1967 when I was a kid, I placed a bet for my Granny in the local bookies on the Grand National.
It didn’t turn me into a gambler, in fact I don’t think I have ever been into a bookies since.
The Gambling Control Bill in it’s present state is not ready to legislate on .
have your say