The Latest: S. Korea sees 299 new cases as virus spikes

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea has reported 299 new cases of the coronavirus as officials placed limits on dining at restaurants and closed fitness centers and after-school academies in the greater capital area to slow the spread of the virus.

The 17th consecutive day of triple-digit daily increases brought the national caseload to 19,699, including 323 deaths.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 209 of the new cases came from the capital of Seoul and nearby Gyeonggi province and Incheon, a region that had been at the center of a viral resurgence this month.

Health authorities have ordered churches and nightspots to close and shifted more schools back to remote learning nationwide as infections spiked in recent weeks.

For eight days starting Sunday, restaurants in the Seoul metropolitan area will be allowed to provide only deliveries and takeouts after 9 p.m. Franchised coffee shops like Starbucks will sell only takeout drinks and food while gyms and after-school academies will be shut to slow the viral spread in the region.

___

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

— Detroit to honor 1,500 who died from coronavirus

— Italy tests record 99,000 for virus, turn up 1,444 cases

— Restaurants and bars in Anchorage will reopen

— Nurses on the front lines of New York’s COVID-19 pandemic call for state to enact minimum staffing standards before another wave of infections.

— Shiite Muslims are observing the solemn holy day of Ashoura that they typically mark with large, mournful gatherings, in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic.

— Tour de France riders sped past a hospital in Nice where health workers are traumatized by their battle against the coronavirus.

___

.

..