South Korea reports coronavirus spike after Chuseok holiday; Indonesia tries to secure AstraZeneca vaccines

Indonesia remains in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic with the number of cases tripling to more than 300,000 since the end of July

Meanwhile, Australia’s hardest-hit city on Wednesday reported its lowest two-week average of new cases since its second wave hit

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A South Korean health worker sprays disinfectant in Seoul. Photo: AP

Published: 11:00am, 7 Oct 2020Updated: 6:31am, 8 Oct 2020

South Korea has reported 114 new cases of the coronavirus, its first daily increase of more than 100 in a week.

Health officials had raised concerns that infections will rise because of increased travel during the five-day Chuseok harvest holiday that ended on Sunday.

The figures released by health officials on Wednesday brought South Korea’s case total to 24,353 for the pandemic, including 425 deaths.

Of the newly confirmed cases, 92 were in the Seoul metropolitan area, which has been at the centre of a viral resurgence since mid-August. Health officials have been struggling to track transmissions linked to various places, including hospitals, churches, restaurants and an army unit in Pocheon, north of Seoul, where 37 soldiers so far have tested positive.

Indonesia wants AstraZeneca vaccines

Indonesia has been seeking to secure vaccines from AstraZeneca, part of its plan to procure doses from overseas while ramping up local output to inoculate its more than 270 million people.