S. Korea offers $39b to help small businesses

SEOUL－South Korean President Moon Jae-in made public a major small business rescue package on Thursday in response to the novel coronavirus crisis during an inaugural "emergency economic council" session as the country saw an uptick in daily new infections.

The $39 billion package, Moon said, is aimed at preventing small and medium-sized firms, small business owners and self-employed people from going bankrupt and easing their finance-related anxiety amid growing fears of a global recession and credit crunch.

The government will also introduce a special loan guarantee program and the rollover of debts at all registered financial institutions, Yonhap News Agency reported.

On Thursday, 152 new cases were reported, reversing four days of double-digit daily new infections as new clusters of infections continued to pop up in the virus-hit southeastern city of Daegu as well as Seoul and neighboring areas, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The increase took the country's total number of infections to 8,565.

In the Philippines, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III is reported to be in home quarantine after being exposed to a health officer infected with the virus.

Duque, who leads the Philippines' response to the epidemic, said he is experiencing mild allergy symptoms and his virus test results are expected in a few days.

The Philippines has reported 202 infections, with 17 deaths.

Meanwhile, Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education urged citizens to avoid unnecessary travel during the upcoming holiday of Nowruz, the Persian new year, which starts on Friday, as the raging pandemic showed no signs of easing.

The ministry reported 1,284 deaths from the viral respiratory disease, as the total number of confirmed cases surged to 18,407, up by 1,046 from Wednesday.

In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Wednesday of possible lockdown orders if people do not comply with guidelines urging them to stay at home to help halt the spread of the coronavirus in Israel.

Netanyahu also requested the authorities to conduct 10,000 daily tests in two and a half weeks while the current ceiling is about 2,000.

In the biggest single-day rise in cases in Israel, 96 people tested positive, taking the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 433, said the Israeli Ministry of Health.

'Prepare for the worst'

Separately, sub-Saharan Africa recorded its first death from the virus, a high-ranking politician in Burkina Faso, as the head of the World Health Organization urged the continent to "prepare for the worst".

Africa has lagged behind the global curve for coronavirus infections and deaths, but in the past few days it has seen a significant rise in cases.

Experts have repeatedly warned about the perils for the continent, given its weak health infrastructure, poverty, conflicts, poor sanitation and urban crowding.

Medical authorities in Burkina Faso announced on Wednesday that the number of infections there had risen by seven to 27, while a 62-yearold diabetic woman, a lawmaker of the country's opposition party, has died.

In Egypt, the country's health ministry confirmed on Wednesday 14 new cases, taking the total number in the country since mid-February to 210.

As of Wednesday, the tally of reported cases stood at more than 600 for all of Africa.

Xinhua and agencies contributed to this story.