Virus cases continue to increase in Seoul, but growth slows

A man wearing a face mask walks across a pedestrian crosswalk in the rain in Seoul, Korea, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. AP

While new coronavirus cases in Seoul continued to increase Friday, the speed of transmission slowed from earlier in the week, easing fears over a possible mass transmission in the metropolis.

South Korea reported 110 new COVID-19 cases Friday, bringing the total to 7,979, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.

In Seoul, where a group transmission at a call center had spawned concerns, 13 more cases were reported, raising the total to 225 as of Thursday midnight, according to the KCDC data.

The increase marks a sharp slowdown from Wednesday, when 52 new cases were reported in the capital following a group infection among call center employees working in the southwestern neighborhood of Sindorim. It is also smaller than the 19 new cases reported Thursday. (Yonhap)