Asia

— The number of new coronavirus infections in South Korea has stayed below 200 for the 7th straight day. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday the 156 cases added in the past 24 hours took the country’s tally to 21,588 with 344 deaths. The agency said 100 of the new cases were locally transmitted patients in the Seoul area, which has been at the center of a viral resurgence since early August. Authorities in the Seoul area have ordered the shutdown of churches, night establishments and after-school academics and curbed late restaurant services to try to curb new infections. … [Read more...] about Asia Today: India adds another 89K cases, to reopen schools

The company behind the S&P 500 announced the inclusion of several companies in the benchmark index, including Etsy. Some investors thought Tesla would be among them, which can create huge bouts of buying as index funds automatically fold the stock into their portfolios. … [Read more...] about Tech chills spill into Asia, as shares sink across region

— South Korea’s new coronavirus cases have come below 200 for an eight straight day, suggesting a viral resurgence is slowing amid stringent social distancing rules. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday it has reported 155 additional cases over the past 24 hours, taking the national tally to 21,743 with 346 deaths. New infections spiked in South Korea, mostly in the greater Seoul area, since early August. Authorities in the Seoul area subsequently ordered the shutdown of churches, nightspots and fitness centers and restricted dining at restaurants. Those enhanced rules expire on Sunday, and the government is to announce whether to extend them. … [Read more...] about Asia Today: India has record spike of 95K new virus cases

India’s health ministry has asked states to allow testing on demand without a doctor’s prescription. It also said some negative rapid antigen tests should be redone through the more reliable RT-PCR method, the gold standard of coronavirus tests that looks for the genetic code of the virus. … [Read more...] about Asia Today: India adds 96K virus cases, orders some retests

Maharashtra is the worst affected state with more than 28,000 COVID-19 fatalities. Nowhere has been the virus more deadly than in Maharashtra, where it has killed 2.8% of those with confirmed infections, well above the national mortality rate of nearly 1.7%. … [Read more...] about Asia Today: India’s cases cross 4.6M after record surge