Korea's COVID-19 cases set to surpass 20,000

Chairs are placed on benches and tables in a cafe in Seoul, Sunday, the first day of the government's week-long social distancing restrictions on restaurants, bakeries and cafes. Korea Times photo by Bae-woo-han

Social distancing toughens as 299 new infections reported

By Bahk Eun-ji

Korea's total COVID-19 caseload is expected to exceed 20,000 soon, as the country has seen triple-digit daily increases for more than two weeks now.

According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the country reported 299 new cases, Sunday, including 283 local infections, raising the total caseload to 19,699. Two more patients died, raising the death toll to 323. The country is only 301 cases away from reaching 20,000.

“Epidemiologists predicted that if the current situation keeps up, the daily number of virus cases could go up to 800, or even 2,000 next week,” KCDC chief Jeong Eun-kyeong said during a regular briefing at the government complex in Sejong, Friday. “If we don't control the current virus trend immediately, the number of confirmed patients can surge exponentially, causing the medical system to collapse, paralyzing essential functions of society or leading to massive economic damage.”

Although the number of daily new coronavirus cases on Saturday fell below 300 for the first time in five days, health authorities continue to gear up for a possible nationwide outbreak as cases with unknown infection routes keep increasing, especially in the Seoul area. Korea experienced its first major outbreak in February and March in Daegu, but the experts view the current situation is more dangerous because in Daegu the cases were linked to only one church.

Acting Seoul Mayor Seo Jeong-hyup said a total of 3,773 newly confirmed cases have been reported in Seoul as of Saturday, increasing by 116 from the previous day. The daily number of COVID-19 patients in Seoul has remained in the triple digits since Aug. 17.

Among them, 42 cases have unknown infection routes, bringing the total of such cases to 649 in the capital.

“The number of cases with untraceable infection routes keeps increasing. In the second week of August, such cases accounted for 7.1 percent among the total cases in Seoul, but it increased sharply to 31.9 percent over the last week,” Seo said.

“The rapidly increasing number of cases without clear infection routes gives us a strong warning that anyone can be infected without noticing anywhere in our daily lives.”

With no signs of the daily new cases slowing down, the government decided to extend Level 2 social distancing measures for one more week until Sept. 6 in the greater Seoul area.

Under the stricter rules, restaurants and bakeries can operate until 9 p.m., and only takeout or delivery services are allowed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Following infection clusters traced to coffee shops, only takeout or delivery services are permitted at franchise coffee chains regardless of operating hours.

Also, buses in Seoul will reduce frequency after 9 p.m. for one week from Monday.

Outside the Seoul metropolitan area, the southeastern city of Daegu reported an additional 30 cases, Saturday, with 29 of them linked to a protestant church in the city, according to the local government. The city government in Daegu ordered shutdown of Sarang Church, filing a complaint against the church's pastor for pressing ahead with onsite services.

Many of the Daegu church's members tested positive for the virus after participating in the Aug. 15 Liberation Day rally in Seoul, the city government said.

Sarang Church is not officially affiliated with Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul, the controversial church whose leader Jun Kwang-hoon organized the Aug. 15 demonstration where infections occurred.