South Korea to launch mass coronavirus testing

Addis Ababa, February 25, 2020 (FBC) -South Korea aims to test more than 200,000 members of a church at the center of a surge in coronavirus cases as countries stepped up efforts to stop a pandemic of the virus that emerged in China and is now spreading in Europe and the Middle East.

More than 80,000 people have been infected in China since the outbreak began, apparently in an illegal wildlife market in the central city of Wuhan late last year.

China’s death toll was 2,663 as of the end of Monday, up by 71 from the previous day. But the World Health Organization (WHO) has said the epidemic in China peaked between January 23 and February 2 and has been declining since.

The world’s second biggest economy is set for a slowdown with the effects of the outbreak rippling far beyond its borders.

South Korea has the most virus cases in Asia outside China and reported its ninth death and 60 new cases, for a total of 893, according to Reuters.