Japan cases hit record amid holiday

TOKYO/SEOUL－The daily tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan and South Korea reached a new high on Sunday, as a World Health Organization envoy predicted a third wave of the pandemic in Europe early next year.

Japan reported a record for the fourth consecutive day at 2,508, the health ministry said on Sunday. The country has had fewer than 2,000 coronavirus-related deaths, avoiding the toll of harder-hit countries. But fears are growing about another surge. Opposition legislators and the public have berated the government for being too slow in halting a tourism campaign that encouraged travel and dining out with discounts.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Saturday scrapped the campaign, but only after many people had already made travel reservations for a three-day Labor Thanksgiving weekend in Japan.

To curb the rise in infections, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Sunday that the country may reimpose attendance limits for sports and other large events.

The limits would be applied in areas of the country with a sharp increase in cases, Nishimura told the public broadcaster NHK. The government imposed attendance limits earlier in the year but relaxed them in recent months.

The government is also considering how to refund cancellation fees for customers who booked trips, Nishimura said.

In neighboring South Korea, there were more than 300 new cases of the virus for the fifth straight day on Sunday, as officials warned that stricter rules could be imposed if the trend continues to threaten highly populated Seoul and surrounding areas.

On Saturday a health official said the country is at "a critical juncture" and faces a large nationwide outbreak that could surpass two earlier waves of infections if the current spread is not stemmed.

Meanwhile, a World Health Organization special COVID-19 envoy predicted a third wave of the pandemic in Europe early next year if governments repeat what he said was a failure to do what was needed to prevent the second wave of infections.

"They missed building up the necessary infrastructure during the summer months, after they brought the first wave under control," David Nabarro of the WHO said in an interview with Swiss newspapers.

"Now we have the second wave. If they don't build the necessary infrastructure, we'll have a third wave early next year."

Europe briefly enjoyed sinking infection rates that are now surging again. The number of cases in Germany and France rose by a total of 33,000 on Saturday. Switzerland and Austria reported thousands of cases daily.

'Incomplete reaction'

"Europe's reaction was incomplete," Nabarro said.

Some other countries also reported record numbers of cases. In the United States, the country that has had the most infections, the number surpassed 12 million on Saturday, Johns Hopkins University said.

To help the immune system fight COVID-19, US health officials on Saturday agreed to allow emergency use of a second antibody drug, an experimental medicine that President Donald Trump was given when he was sick with the disease last month.

The US Food and Drug Administration authorized use of the drug Regeneron to try to prevent hospitalization and worsening disease from developing in patients with mild-to-moderate symptoms.

Agencies - Xinhua