Coronavirus Live News: England ‘Prepares for 1-2 Million Cases in Weeks’; tougher restrictions in place in South Korean capital | World News

South Korea has reported more than 1,000 coronavirus cases for the sixth day in a row, as the capital area entered strict social distancing restrictions for slow broadcasts.

The 1,100 new cases reported by the Korea Agency for Disease Prevention and Control were the highest ever on a Monday, when the daily increase is typically lower due to reduced testing at weekends.

More than 780 of the cases occurred in the capital Seoul and in nearby Incheon and Gyeonggi provinces, areas where officials have applied the strongest social distancing measures in the country as of Monday.

Private social gatherings of three or more people will be banned starting at 6 pm, nightclubs and churches will be closed, and visitors will be banned from hospitals and nursing homes.

South Korea has added more than 12,100 cases this month alone, raising its burden of cases to 169,146, including 2,044 deaths. Last week, the country set record daily increases for three days in a row through Saturday, when it reported 1,378 new cases.

The viral rise is a worrying development in a country where only 30.4% of a population of 51 million have received their first doses of vaccines.

Boris Johnson has said that caution is “absolutely vital” before the abandonment of virtually all formal Covid restrictions as ministers toughen their language amid expectations of rising infection rates.

The Guardian understands that ministers have been told to prepare for at least one to two million new cases of coronavirus in the coming weeks, although the vaccination program means that much smaller proportions of those infected will be hospitalized and die than in previous waves.

The move to the final stage of unlocking on July 19, which will be announced by the prime minister on Monday afternoon, has been heralded as the time for people to trust their own judgment on coronavirus precautions, instead of the official recipes.

The Guardian’s Peter Walker and Ian Sample report:

Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic with me, Helen Sullivan.

Boris Johnson has said England is “tantalizingly close” to lifting final coronavirus restrictions as it prepared to head to the country on Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile, South Korea reported 1,100 new coronavirus cases by July 11, the Korean Agency for Disease Prevention and Control said on Monday, as the country’s toughest anti-Covid restrictions go into effect in Seoul in an attempt. for quelling its worst outbreak.

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