South Korea reports 40 new cases, biggest daily recent jump

South Korea reported its highest number of new coronavirus infections in weeks on Wednesday as the nation is cautiously easing its restrictions.

The 40 newly confirmed cases — the biggest daily jump in nearly 50 days — raised alarm as millions of children were returning to school.

South Korean Vice Health Minister Kim Kang-lip said in a daily briefing in Sejong that 37 of the 40 new cases are related to the recent outbreak from nightclubs in Itaewon, Seoul's multicultural district. The remaining three are infections from abroad, Kim said.

All but four of the new cases were in the densely populated Seoul region, where officials are scrambling to stop transmissions linked to nightclubs, karaoke rooms and an e-commerce warehouse.

South Korea has reported 269 deaths and 11,265 cases, after managing to contain a severe earlier outbreak.

Authorities were testing 3,600 employees of a local e-commerce giant, Coupang, after discovering dozens of coronavirus infections linked to workers at the company's warehouse near Seoul.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

But the virus is highly contagious and can be spread by those with mild or no visible symptoms.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and could lead to death.