South Korea COVID-19 cases rise steadily, more financial aid expected

SEOUL: South Korea reported 78 new coronavirus cases on Monday (Mar 30), keeping the rate of infections fairly steady, as President Moon Jae-in held an emergency meeting with economic policymakers to discuss financial support for the public.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said the national tally stood at 9,661, while the death toll rose by 6 to 158. It added that 195 more people had recovered from the virus for a total of 5,228.

The daily number of new infections in South Korea has been hovering around 100 or less for the past three weeks, but authorities have tightened border checks as small outbreaks continued to emerge and the number of imported cases rose.

At least 13 of the latest cases were overseas travellers, KCDC data showed.

South Korea announced on Sunday that all overseas arrivals will have to undergo two weeks of mandatory quarantine starting on Apr 1.

Moon is expected to announce details of support for households later on Monday. He has already doubled a planned rescue package for companies to 100 trillion won (US$81.6 billion).