New virus cases bounce back, another cluster looming outside Seoul

A visitor to Gangnam Public Health Center in Seoul takes an infection screening test for COVID-19, June 16. Yonhap

South Korea's new virus cases rebounded to over 40 on Wednesday, as cluster infections continued to linger in greater Seoul and imported cases spiked. More mass infections outside the greater Seoul area were also reported.

The country added 43 new cases, including 31 local infections, raising the total caseload to 12,198, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

The tally marked a sharp rise from the 34 additional cases reported Tuesday.

Of the locally transmitted cases, 25 were reported in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital, home to half of the country's population of 50 million. Five were also reported from Daejeon, 164 kilometers south of Seoul.

Health authorities are on high alert as it was the first time for South Korea in more than a month to report a group infection case outside the greater Seoul area.

The number of new imported cases came to 12, raising the total number of such infections to 1,371. It marked the fourth time this month for such cases to rise by a two-digit number.

The number of daily new cases had reached 56 on Friday, just one shy from this month's peak of 57 reported on June 7. Daily new cases fell to 34 on Sunday.

The Seoul metropolitan area has accounted for most of the newly added virus cases this month, as it has been saddled with cluster infections tied to religious gatherings and a door-to-door sales firm.

As of Tuesday, cases traced to the door-to-door business from the west of Seoul reached 172, up three from the previous day.

Those linked to a warehouse operated by e-commerce giant Coupang increased by five to 152. Cases linked to a sports facility in western Seoul advanced by two to 66.

Virus cases connected to a day care center for seniors in northeastern Seoul rose by three to 22 as well.

South Korea eased strict social distancing in early May on the back of the flattened virus curve, but cluster infections traced to a nightlife district in Seoul soon emerged.

A continued rise in cluster infections forced health authorities to indefinitely extend toughened infection preventive measures in greater Seoul this week following a two-week implementation.

Health authorities warned that the new scheme could be applied across the country if the daily number of new cases does not sharply flatten down the road.

South Korea is also closely monitoring asymptomatic virus spreaders, who made up 10 percent of newly identified cases this month.

In a possible silver lining, South Korea's reproduction rate of COVID-19, which refers to the average number of people infected with the virus by a single patient, slightly hovers above one, according to the KCDC. The previous estimate provided by the center was 1.8.

The country reported one more virus-related deaths, raising the total death toll to 279. The fatality rate came to 2.29 percent.

South Korea has been carrying out 1,132,823 tests since Jan. 3.

The total number of people released from quarantine after full recoveries stood at 10,774, up 14 from the previous day. Around 88 percent of South Korean COVID-19 patients have been cured. (Yonhap)