Korea's coronavirus infections tops 10,000

A group of Korean evacuees arrive at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, Friday, from Morocco via a Moroccan carrier provided by the North African nation.. Yonhap

By Bahk Eun-ji

The number of coronavirus infections in Korea surpassed 10,000, Thursday, the health authorities announced Friday. This was recorded 74 days after the first case was reported in January.

According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), 86 new infections were confirmed Thursday, bringing the nation's total to 10,062. The death toll rose by five to 174.

Among the 86 new cases, 38 involve people who were infected overseas, bringing the total number of such cases to 647. The KCDC said 22 of them were detected at quarantine checkpoints.

Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, the nation's two worst-affected regions, reported nine and five new cases, respectively. The total number of cases reported in Daegu and the North Gyeongsang Province reached 6,734 and 1,309, respectively.

The Seoul metropolitan region continues to see new cases daily, mainly due to infection clusters at major hospitals and churches. Five more new cases were reported at Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital in Gyeonggi Province, bringing the total number of infections there to 27.

Seoul reported 18 new cases, bringing its total to 506, many attributed to infection clusters at a church and a call center. At least 37 people from the church have tested positive for the virus so far.

The country now requires all those arriving from abroad to spend a mandatory 14 days in quarantine in order to contain the virus spread in the country. The Ministry of Justice said Friday it has implemented an administrative order that will restrict the scope of activities for all foreign arrivals to make sure that they don't travel around the country now.

The measure was introduced as some foreigners infected with COVID-19 did not comply with the self-isolation rules and traveled without wearing masks.

The restriction has applied to all non-Korean arrivals since Wednesday. Those who violate the restriction can face a prison term of up to three years or a fine up to 20 million won ($16,300).

“The government expects that when the number of people under self-quarantine and those who were infected from overseas stabilizes, community infections will be contained,” said Prime Minister Chung Sei-kyun during a government meeting on COVID-19.