May 12 coronavirus news

A total of 101 coronavirus cases have been linked to a nightclub cluster in South Korea, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said today.

The cluster emerged in the capital's Itaewon entertainment district over the past few days, raising fears of a second wave of infections.

So far 7,272 people in Seoul have been tested in relation to the nightclub cluster, Park said.

An estimated 10,905 people were in the vicinity of Itaewon clubs last week, according to phone signal tower records. The city sent a text message to all the numbers identified and asked them to be tested. The number of people getting tested doubled after officials began offering anonymous testing, Park said.

The city also secured a list of nearly 500 people who were in the affected area through credit card records, and asked them to be tested and to self-quarantine.

Seoul is now conducting random checks of clubs, and entertainment venues to enforce a closure order, Park said.

Second wave: South Korea has been heralded internationally as an example of a country that got its coronavirus response right, largely containing the outbreak through aggressive testing, quarantining, and contact tracing measures.

But the World Health Organization warned yesterday that countries lifting restrictions, including South Korea, saw an uptick in new cases over the weekend.

Nearly five months after the novel coronavirus first emerged in China, countries around the world are slowly starting to ease restrictions and lift lockdowns, moving from containment and mitigation to recovery.

In Wuhan, the capital of China's Hubei province at ground zero for the global pandemic, daily life has cautiously resumed. People who have been cleared with good health are now allowed to travel and work, while city and provincial borders have reopened.

But as restrictions eases, fears of a second wave remain. Five new local transmissions were reported in Wuhan yesterday, a day after the city reported its first new case in more than a month.

Some parts of Spain are entering "Phase 1" of lifting restrictions, which allows many shops to reopen, and restaurants that have outdoor seating and service.

In these areas of the country, like the Costa Blanca holiday spot Benidorm, people flocked to bars and outdoor areas to celebrate the lifting of lockdown on Monday. Other harder-hit cities like Madrid and Barcelona remain in the stricter "Phase Zero" quarantine.

France eased lockdown measures on Monday for the first time in more than 50 days. In Paris, traffic returned to the Champs Elysees, shops reopened, and people strolled the streets -- marking a return to some aspects of normal life.

The banks of the River Seine were full of people sharing drinks and gathering with friends on Monday, eager to be back out after weeks spent cooped up.

And in Shanghai, the city's Disneyland finally reopened this week after being closed for months -- but with new rules, like markers on the floor to show visitors how to conduct social distancing. Hand sanitizers are everywhere, and there is a cap on the number of daily visitors.

Twitter said Monday it plans to put labels and warning messages on some tweets that contain disputed or misleading information related to Covid-19, even if it's tweeted by US President Donald Trump.

Twitter announced in March that it would remove Covid-19 tweets that could cause a "direct risk to people's health or well-being." 

Starting Monday, it will use labels and warning messages "to provide additional explanations or clarifications in situations where the risks of harm associated with a Tweet are less severe but where people may still be confused or misled by the content."

Trump, possibly Twitter's most prolific user, will also be subject to the rules, according to Yoel Roth, Twitter's head of site integrity.

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The novel coronavirus has infected more than 4.1 million people and killed at least 285,000 worldwide. If you're just joining us, here are the top headlines:

Airport screening in California for travelers coming from China and Iran failed to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the state, according to a new report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health officials checked 11,574 travelers, sent their information to local officials, and had them monitored for 14 days -- but only three of these travelers eventually tested positive.

There were a few factors impacting the program's effectiveness; states would receive incomplete traveler information, and public health officials spent substantial time correcting errors, the report said. It's possible the team missed some cases, too, since people needed to have sought care and been tested to show up as a confirmed case.

But if improved and sufficiently staffed, traveler monitoring programs could be useful for containing the virus once community transmission decreases in the US, the researchers said.

Don't get your hopes up, football fans.

Even without spectators in the seats, NFL games could be the "perfect setup for spreading" coronavirus, warned top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci in an interview with NBC Sports' Peter King.

However, Fauci cautioned that it all depends on the level of infection in the community -- if the infection rate is still high, "you can't have a season -- it's impossible," he said.

When King asked Fauci what would happen if four players on a team tested positive, he was blunt: You would have to "shut it down."

The interview came nearly two weeks after Fauci said in an interview with The New York Times that some sports may have to prepare to not play out this season, and a week after the NFL released its regular season schedule. The league is preparing for games to start this fall, despite CDC guidelines warning against large events and mass gatherings.

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Hawaii may start taking photographs of all incoming visitors, as the state continues to deal with people ignoring its mandatory 14-day quarantine rule. 

The state has strictly enforced its quarantine for visitors, even arresting a California couple on their honeymoon who repeatedly ignored warnings to stay in their hotel room last week. 

Repeat violators have been fined and even forced to leave the state, with a local tourist advocacy group sometimes paying the cost of their departure flight.

“Certainly having photos would be helpful,” Ige said. “We’re looking at a number of things that would help us improve the enforcement of the quarantine.”

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By Josh Campbell, CNN

China recorded one new confirmed coronavirus case yesterday, imported from abroad and detected in Inner Mongolia, the National Health Commission said. 

There were also 15 asymptomatic new cases recorded.

Mainland China has now officially recorded 82,919 Covid-19 cases and 4,633 deaths. Some 78,171 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospital, according to the NHC.

A further 760 asymptomatic patients, who are counted separately, are still under medical observation.

New clusters emerge: China began lifting restrictions and lockdowns in April after the number of new local transmissions fell to near-zero -- but on Sunday, the NHC recorded 10 new local cases.

Five of those were in Wuhan, ground zero for the global pandemic.

Fresh lockdown measures were announced for the northeastern city of Shulan over the weekend after 11 coronavirus cases were reported there. 

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Walt Disney World theme parks and Disney Resort hotels are now accepting reservations for travel dates starting July 1 onward.

According to their website, guests are able to modify these bookings if Walt Disney World Resort opens before or after that time. 

Disney Springs will also begin a phased reopening on May 20, while other areas of Walt Disney World Resort remain closed, including theme parks and Disney resort hotels, the website added.