A voter wears plastic gloves to help protect against the spread of the new coronavirus upon arrival to cast his vote for the parliamentary election in Seoul, South Korea. Photos / AP
A voter wears plastic gloves to help protect against the spread of the new coronavirus upon arrival to cast his vote for the parliamentary election in Seoul, South Korea. Photos / AP
South Korean voters wore masks and moved slowly between lines of tape at polling stations today to elect MPs in the shadows of the spreading coronavirus.
The Government resisted calls to postpone the parliamentary elections billed as a midterm referendum for President Moon Jae In, who enters the final years of his term grappling with a historic public health crisis that is unleashing massive economic shock.
While South Korea's electorate is deeply divided along ideological and generational lines and regional loyalties, recent surveys showed growing support for Moon and his liberal party, reflecting the public's approval of an aggressive test-and-quarantine programme so far credited for lower fatality rates compared to worst-hit areas in China, Europe and North America.
The long lines that snaked around public offices and schools followed record-high participation in early voting held on Friday and Saturday, seemed to defy expectations of low voter turnout in the middle of an active campaign to minimise social contact to slow infections.
Around 87,000 of South Korea's 172,000 eligible voters overseas were also denied absentee voting after polling was ruled out in dozens of diplomatic offices worldwide as the pandemic grew.
To hold the parliamentary elections as scheduled, South Korean election officials and health authorities drew up a deliberate set of preventive measures to reduce risks of the virus being transmitted.
Duct tape or stickers marked a metre of social-distancing space from nearby streets to ballot booths. Masked poll workers checked temperatures of arrivals and whisked anyone with a fever or not wearing a mask to separate areas to vote, sanitising the facilities after they do. Voters who passed the fever screening got sanitising gel and disposable plastic gloves before entering booths to cast their ballots.
The potential for certain forms of violence to escalate in the wake of the pandemic should not overshadow the fact that the world, on average, has become a much safer place.https://t.co/rliEY7MSM7pic.twitter.com/VUrIxRFIwZ
The Government also mapped out a voting process for citizens quarantined at their homes.
Officials texted eligible voters in self-quarantine before the vote and about 13,000 affirmed they wanted to participate. Those without fever or respiratory symptoms can temporarily leave their homes from 5.20 to 7 pm so they could cast their ballots after 6 pm, when polling stations close for other voters.
Quarantined voters will be escorted or monitored through tracking apps and must maintain a 2m distance at polling places, while workers fully dressed in protective suits will disinfect booths after each of them vote.
South Korea has confirmed more than 10,500 infections and 225 deaths from Covid-19 with new cases declining in recent weeks. But there's concern about rising infections in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area and worries that crowds at parks and on mass transportation may indicate a relaxing of social distancing.
People wearing protective masks stroll in a shopping street in Tokyo, Japan.
JAPAN: Japan had 457 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing a national total to 8100, as well as 712 others from a cruise ship quarantined near Tokyo earlier this year.
All combined, Japan has a total of 8812 cases, with 231 deaths, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said today.
Tokyo, by far, has the biggest number of cases at 2319, most of them still in hospital. Officials are under pressure to expand space for more patients, while transferring those with no or slight symptoms to hotels to make room for others in serious conditions.
So far, 105 slightly sick patients moved into a hotel, and Tokyo plans to secure up to 3500 single rooms by June.
Lack of space and equipment at ordinary hospitals that previously have not been equipped with infectious diseases treatment are being asked to take in patients.
Medical experts have warned that Tokyo's healthcare system is on the brink of collapse amid surge of patients and shortage of protective gear.
SINGAPORE: Singapore has made it mandatory for everyone to wear a mask in public in the latest bid to curb the coronavirus spread following a sharp spike in cases.
The health ministry said that anyone found without masks will be fined S$300, while repeat offenders could be prosecuted in court and face higher fines. It said exemptions will be made for children under 2 years old or those with special needs.
People can also remove their masks when engaging in strenuous exercise, but must put them back afterward.
Coronavirus cases in the tiny city-state has surged to 3252 after two straight days of sharp increases.
CNN: More than 2,300 deaths from coronavirus have been reported in the United States today, the highest one-day death count since the outbreak began.
Singapore reported its biggest daily jump of 386 new cases on Monday, and another 334 new cases yesterday, mostly linked to foreign workers living in crowded dormitories.
Authorities expect cases to continue to rise amid more testing at the dormitories, which house over 200,000 migrant workers, but believe the situation will stabilise once its partial lockdown take effect.
Singapore has shut non-essential businesses and schools under its circuit-breaker measures until May 4. Officials said about a fifth of Singapore's workforce, including foreign workers, are still working but the Government is seeking to tighten the list of services considered essential.
