New virus cases under 50, cluster infections linger in greater Seoul

A visitor to a makeshift COVID-19 infection screening site at Gangnam Public Health Center in Seoul fills out a medical questionnaire before being tested, June 12. Yonhap

New COVID-19 cases fell below the 50 threshold in South Korea, Saturday, but infection clusters continue to persist in the greater Seoul area, putting a strain the on the health authorities' efforts to fight the pandemic.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 49 new infections ― 44 of which were local ― raising the country's total caseload to 12,051.

Of the locally transmitted cases, all but one came from Seoul and the metropolitan area.

One of the newly added infections reported a day earlier, later retested negative.

While new cases have been plateauing in other areas, the metropolitan area, home to half the country's population of over 50 million, has been suffering from a string of infection clusters tied to religious gatherings, a distribution center and a sports facility.

Late last month, the government implemented two weeks of tougher virus prevention guidelines for the metropolitan area, with measures including shutting down public facilities and regulating bars and karaoke rooms.

Earlier this week, however, it decided to indefinitely extend the deadline previously set for Sunday, as nearly all locally transmitted cases this month have been reported in the metropolitan area.

The measures will be in place until the number of new cases falls below single digits, according to the health authorities.

In addition, QR code-based entry logs will be mandatory for all people entering cram schools, PC rooms and entertainment facilities in the capital area.

The health authorities also warned that the government may re-impose strict social distancing nationwide unless the virus curve flattens sharply.

The administration had eased strict nationwide social distancing guidelines May 6, as the daily new COVID-19 cases reached single digits, with phased re-openings of schools starting in mid-May.

The country completed the re-openings this week, although some regulations, including a mix of online and offline classes, are still in force.

On Friday, cases traced to a distribution center in Bucheon, just west of Seoul, run by e-commerce firm Coupang, reached 147, up one from a day earlier. Those linked to small churches in the metropolitan area rose by one to reach 95.

Cases tied to a door-to-door business establishment rose to 139 as of Friday, with patients aged 65 and above accounting for 44.6 percent of the total.

COVID-19 cases linked to a table tennis gym in southwestern Seoul came in at 61.

Other smaller infection clusters were also reported nationwide, with 14 cases traced to a day care center for senior citizens in western Seoul.

The health authorities remain vigilant over asymptomatic "silent" virus spreaders as well. About 30 percent of COVID-19 patients here are asymptomatic, according to the KCDC.

The total death tally stayed unchanged at 277.

The number of imported cases advanced by five to reach 1,330, with around 86 percent of them being South Korean nationals.

The overall fatality rate has been tallied at 2.3 percent, although the figure reached 25.6 percent for those aged 80 and above. South Korea has not yet reported a death from a patient aged below 30.

The total number of people released from quarantine after a full recovery stood at 10,691, up 22 from the previous day, indicating nearly 89 percent of COVID-19 patients here have recovered.

The government has carried out 1,094,704 COVID-19 tests since Jan. 3 ― roughly 1 out of every 50 people in the country. (Yonhap)