Covid cases rise across Asia as South Korea sees record numbers of seriously ill, Thailand restarts quarantine

Photograph: Sakchai Lalit/AP South Korea is struggling to contain a surge in Covid-19 cases, reporting 7,456 infections on Wednesday and a record number of people with serious symptoms, as countries across Asia face a similar battle. The new infections bring South Korea's total to 583,065, while the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said the number of critically ill patients rose to a new high of 1,063. It is placing intense pressure on medical services, prompting the prime minister, Kim Boo-kyum, to commit to securing an additional 10,000 hospital beds for patients with moderate to serious symptoms by the middle…