South Korea’s parliament was shut down on Thursday and a group of lawmakers were in self-quarantine as the country recorded more than 400 new coronavirus infections.
The South endured one of the worst early outbreaks of COVID-19 outside mainland China before bringing it broadly under control with extensive tracing and testing, but is now battling several clusters mostly linked to Protestant churches.
Thursday’s 441 new cases were mostly in the greater Seoul area and are the latest in a series of near-six-month highs after several weeks with numbers generally in the 30s and 40s.
The National Assembly was closed after a photojournalist who covered a ruling party meeting on Wednesday was later confirmed to have contracted Covid-19.
Access to virtual education lacking
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread school closures, at least one-third of students affected around the world lack access to virtual education, according to a UN study released Wednesday.
In all, an estimated 463 million children lack the equipment or electronic access to pursue distance learning, said the report from UNICEF.
“The sheer number of children whose education was completely disrupted for months on end is a global education emergency,” Henrietta Fore, executive director of the UN Children’s Fund, said in a statement.
“The repercussions could be felt in economies and societies for decades to come.”
US health authorities reverse position
After previously encouraging people without COVID-19 symptoms to get tested if they have been exposed to someone diagnosed with the virus, US health authorities have abruptly reversed their position without a clear explanation.
The changes in the guidance were quietly made to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website on Monday amid US media reports of political interference from the White House.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that the US should do less testing, and blamed testing for making it appear as though the country is doing poorly against the pandemic.
This is not true: though the US is testing at a high level, that is because its outbreak is worse than any other country in the world, with more than 5.8 million confirmed cases and almost 180,000 deaths.
EU trade commissioner quits
EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan, a key figure in Brexit talks and one of the bloc’s most senior officials, resigned on Wednesday after a week of pressure over a breach of coronavirus guidelines.
Hogan, 60, tendered his resignation to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen as the row rumbled on, and strong indications from the Irish government he should fall on his sword.
“It was becoming increasingly clear that the controversy concerning my recent visit to Ireland was becoming a distraction from my work as an EU Commissioner and would undermine my work in the key months ahead,” he said in a statement.
His departure leaves von der Leyen in a dilemma, with the Brexit talks with Britain deadlocked and a December deadline looming, and no guarantee for Ireland it will retain the powerful position.