S. Korea, Japan take measures to fight coronavirus

By Zehra Nur Duz

ANKARA (AA) - Coronavirus continues to sound alarm across East Asia with a spike in confirmed cases and deaths.

South Korea, which is the biggest hotspot for the virus after China, on Thursday reported another death bringing the toll to 13, Yonhap reported.

Also, 334 new cases were detected by health authorities in the country raising the total to 1,595.

South Korea decided to postpone its springtime joint military exercises with the U.S. over rising fears about the outbreak, officials said Thursday.

The death toll from coronavirus has risen to seven in Japan with 894 confirmed cases, local Kyodo news reported.

They include 705 cases from the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship quarantined in the Japanese port of Yokohoma. Its two-week quarantine ended on Feb. 19.

A total of 240 crew members aboard the ship, who have tested negative for the virus, disembarked Thursday for further checks by health officials, Kyodo quoted the country’s Health Ministry as saying.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has ordered schools across the country to shut from next week until the end of spring break.

In Hong Kong, a 29-year-old Filipino woman tested positive for coronavirus, the Phillippine Consultate General in China said Thursday in a Facebook post.

“As of today, only one Filipino remains in quarantine,” the consulate said, adding that she is healthy and will be released on Friday.

The coronavirus was first detected in China in December 2019 and has spread to more than 35 other countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Singapore, France, Russia, Spain and India, raising global alarm.

The global death toll is nearly 2,800, and China is the worst hit, with more than 78,000 cases and over 2,700 fatalities.

The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak an international health emergency.