Nearly 500 new coronavirus cases send South Korea total past 4,000
Seoul: South Korea reported nearly 500 new coronavirus cases Monday, sending the largest national total in the world outside China past 4,000.
Four more people had died, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, taking the toll to 22.
Infection numbers have surged in the world's 12th-largest economy in recent days and the country's central bank has warned of negative growth in the first quarter, noting the epidemic will hit both consumption and exports, while scores of events have been cancelled or postponed over the contagion.
The figures are expected to rise further as authorities carry out checks on more than 260,000 people associated with the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a religious group often condemned as a cult that is linked to more than half the cases.
A 61-year-old female member developed a fever on February 10 but attended at least four church services in Daegu -- the country's fourth-largest city with a population of 2.5 million and the centre of the outbreak -- before being diagnosed.
Of the 476 new cases announced Monday -- taking the total to 4,212 -- more than 90 percent were in Daegu and the neighbouring province of North Gyeongsang, the KCDC said.
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India win toss, elect to bowl against NZ in first ODI
Vadodara (PTI): India skipper Shubman Gill won the toss and opted to bowl first in the first One-day International against New Zealand here on Sunday.
India have included six bowlers in their playing Xi with Giil saying he wants to "try different combinations and see how that works".
Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja have been included as spin-bowling options, while Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna are the pacers.
NZ skipper Michael Bracewell said Kristian Clarke and Adithya Ashok will be making their ODI debut.
Teams:
India: Shubman Gill (capt), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Hay (w), Michael Bracewell (c), Zakary Foulkes, Kristian Clarke, Kyle Jamieson, Adithya Ashok.
