AS SOUTH KOREA counted its 11th straight day of triple-digit daily coronavirus cases yesterday, health officials pleaded for people to follow guidelines or risk further restrictions and strains on hospitals.

Most of the 266 new cases reported by the Korea Centres for Disease Control & Prevention (KCDC) were in the capital Seoul’s metropolitan area, home to half of the country’s 51 million people, but new infections were also reported in other major cities, including Busan, Daejeon and Sejong.

KCDC director Jeong Eun Kyeong said it is likely the country will continue to report huge infection numbers in coming days as health workers scramble to trace and test contacts of virus carriers.