South Korea's new coronavirus patients spiked by more than 1,000 for the fifth straight day to hit a fresh record high Sunday, putting the country's virus battle in the most trouble so far amid rising death tolls. An uptick in virus patients came even as the country conducted fewer tests over the weekend. A total of 36,847 virus tests were carried out Saturday, about 20,000 fewer than those on business days. Health authorities issued a rare order to private hospitals Friday to secure more intensive-care beds for virus patients. The number of seriously or critically ill coronavirus patients reached 278, up three from the previous day.

Source: The Standard December 20, 2020 07:52 UTC