Infection cases from abroad soaring
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By Jun Ji-hye
Korea is grappling with rising imported COVID-19 cases while there have been signs of a slowdown in locally transmitted infections, health authorities said Friday, expressing concerns that the increase in imported cases could lead to community spread in the country again.
Due to rising imported cases that have been attributed mainly to infections in Korean workers returning home from Iraq and Russian sailors, the nation's new daily virus cases were tallied at around 60 for the second straight day.
According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the country added 60 cases Thursday, raising the nation's total to 13,672. Of those, 39 were imported cases, nearly double the 21 local infections.
“Among the imported cases, 25 were detected at airports and seaports, while 14 patients tested positive during their 14-day self-quarantine,” KCDC Director Jung Eun-kyeong said during a briefing. “By country, 20 cases were believed to come from Russia, followed by eight from the United States, six from Iraq, three from the Philippines and two from Uzbekistan.”
On Wednesday, the nation added 61 new cases, including 47 coming in from overseas.
The KCDC said the number of daily new imported cases have been in the double digits since June 26, noting that the cases coming in from overseas accounted for about 50 percent of all cases reported here since July 1.
A large number of imported cases has been traced to multiple Russian vessels that docked at the southern port city of Busan ― at least 22 sailors on the ships have tested positive over the last two days.
Dozens of Korean workers returning from Iraq where they worked on construction projects have also tested positive in recent days.
The government is planning to send chartered flights to the Middle Eastern country next week to bring remaining Korean nationals home safely.
“Iraq is reporting about 2,000 COVID-19 patients every day,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said during a government meeting on the COVID-19 response. “The government is responsible for protecting Korean workers who are exposed to the risk of infections in the country.”
Chung said around 800 workers are still in Iraq, calling on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to make thorough preparations before sending chartered flights.