People wearing face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus watch Christmas decorations at a store in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. South Korea's daily virus tally hovered above 500 for the second straight day, as the country's prime minister urged the public to stay home this weekend to contain a viral resurgence. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
People wearing face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus cross a road in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. South Korea's daily virus tally hovered above 500 for the second straight day, as the country's prime minister urged the public to stay home this weekend to contain a viral resurgence. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
People wearing face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus walk through a market in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. South Korea's daily virus tally hovered above 500 for the second straight day, as the country's prime minister urged the public to stay home this weekend to contain a viral resurgence. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Health workers take a break from taking nasal swab samples from passengers to test for for COVID-19 at a train station in Mumbai, India, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. India has more than 9 million cases of coronavirus, second behind the United States. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)A health worker checks the temperature of a passenger at a train station in Mumbai, India, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. India has more than 9 million cases of coronavirus, second behind the United States. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) 
Health workers takes a nasal swab sample of a woman passenger to test for COVID-19 at a train station in Mumbai, India, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. India has more than 9 million cases of coronavirus, second behind the United States. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
A police officer helps a woman passenger get up to proceed to give her nasal swab sample for COVID-19 testing at a railway station in Mumbai, India, Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. India has more than 9 million cases of coronavirus, second behind the United States. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)People wearing face masks to protect against the coronavirus sit in a coffee shop in Beijing, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) 
People wearing face masks to protect against the coronavirus walk at an outdoor shopping area in Beijing, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)People wearing face masks to protect against the coronavirus walk at an outdoor shopping area in Beijing, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) People wearing face masks to protect against the coronavirus sit in a coffee shop in Beijing, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea reported more than 500 new coronavirus cases for the third straight day on Saturday, the fastest spread of infections the country has seen since the early days of the pandemic.
The 504 cases reported by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention brought the total number of infections since the pandemic began to 33,375, including 522 deaths.
Around 330 of the new cases came from the Seoul metropolitan area, home to about half of the country’s 51 million people, where health workers are struggling to stem transmissions linked to hospitals, schools, saunas, gyms and army units.
Infections were also reported in other major cities including Daegu, which was the epicenter of the country’s previous major outbreak in late February and March.
The recent spike in infections came after the government eased social distancing restrictions to the lowest levels in October to support a weak economy, allowing high-risk venues like nightclubs and karaoke bars to reopen and spectators to return to sports.
Officials reimposed some of the restrictions this week and could be forced to clamp down on economic activities further if transmissions don’t slow.
In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region:
— Health authorities in northern Thailand have traced and tested more than 300 people who were in contact with a Thai women who returned from Myanmar and tested positive for the coronavirus after somehow avoiding a mandatory quarantine. The director-general of the Department of Disease Control said Saturday it was the 10th case in the last two months where it could not be ascertained with certainty where the patient caught the virus. The 29-year-old woman had been in Myanmar for a month during a coronavirus surge before entering Thailand on Nov. 24. She then spent three days in Chiang Mai, including visits to a nightclub and department store, before going to a hospital. Health officials traced and tested 326 people who had been in contact with her and quarantined the 105 judged most at risk. Thailand since January has had 3,966 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 60 deaths.
— India’s coronavirus infections dipped further with 41,322 new cases reported in the past 24 hours, and there was no signs of a resurgence as a result of a major festival two weeks ago. The high point of new infections this week was 44,739 on Wednesday. Single-day cases have remained below the 50,000-mark for three weeks. The Indian capital also saw a drop in daily cases with 5,482 after recording an all-time high on Nov. 11. The federal government blamed state authorities’ inability to ramp up testing and enforce social distancing for the surge in New Delhi. On Saturday, India’s death toll rose by 485 to to 136,200. In an effort to stop the virus from spreading, the Home Ministry has allowed states to impose local restrictions like night curfews but has asked them to consult before imposing lockdowns at state, district or city levels.
___
Follow AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
Before you make your next trade, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis.
Our team has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and none of the big name stocks were on the list.
They believe these five stocks are the five best companies for investors to buy now...
See The Five Stocks Here
Which stocks are likely to thrive in today's challenging market? Click the link below and we'll send you MarketBeat's list of ten stocks that will drive in any economic environment.
Get This Free Report
