Seoul At Center Of New Virus Wave In South Korea

A new wave of coronavirus infections continued in South Korea on Thursday, while China reported just a single new case.

According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 39 more people tested positive for COVID-19 over the past 24 hours.

It said most of the cases were in the capital Seoul, where there has recently been a steady increase in infections linked to church gatherings.

The overall count since the country's first case on Jan. 25 is now up to 11,629, including 273 deaths.

In China, where the virus originated last December, only one new COVID-19 case was confirmed over the past 24 hours.

The National Health Commission said one person who recently returned from abroad tested positive on mainland China.

There were no virus-linked deaths in the country, it said.

China's total case count to date now stands at 84,160, including 4,638 deaths and 79,494 recoveries, according to data compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.

The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 386,000 people worldwide, with total infections in 188 countries and regions reaching over 6.5 million, while some 2.8 million people have recovered.

Writing by Gozde Bayar -