NEWS BRIEF

[Anchor Lead]

Another case of the novel coronavirus has been confirmed in Korea today, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 28. The 28th patient is a 30-year-old Chinese woman. She is a friend of the third patient, who was confirmed to have the virus on January 26th.
The National Medical Center's central clinical taskforce comprising doctors and experts treating coronavirus patients said it has confirmed that some of the infected patients can overcome the disease with their own immune system without using any antiviral drugs. However, the taskforce is considering more aggressive antiviral treatment for seniors, patients with underlying diseases and those with severe symptoms. The doctors are zeroing in on AIDS or malaria drugs as a potential cure for the novel coronavirus.
The results of an online poll conducted by the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises on more than a thousand small entrepreneurs nationwide shows that 98 percent of the respondents have seen their business revenues plummet due to the coronavirus outbreak. About 67 percent of the polled said their sales declined sharply.
North Korea's Rodong Sinmun reported today that the North is seeking to modernize and develop its pharmaceutical and medical equipment sectors as part of the efforts to improve healthcare amid the coronavirus epidemic. The newspaper wrote that without securing enough medicines and medical tools, doctors cannot produce good results in treating patients, while the public cannot receive more benefits.