Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
Mass infections at rehabilitation hospitals push daily cases over 100 again
A healthcare worker walks past Namcheon hospital in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, where eight new infections were recorded on Thursday, bringing the total to 12. / Yonhap.
By Lee Hyo-jin
By Lee Hyo-jin
Korea's daily new COVID-19 case numbers have bounced up to over 100 for the first time in a week due mainly to sporadic infection clusters at rehabilitation hospitals, raising concerns about the recently eased social distancing measures, Thursday.
The country added 121 new cases for Wednesday, including 104 local transmissions, bringing the total caseload to 21,944, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
It is the first time in a week that the daily number has reached triple digits, more than double the benchmark 50 level for maintaining Level 1 social distancing rules.
The government had relaxed social distancing measures to the lowest level on Oct. 12 in the belief that the virus situation was stabilizing following two months of tightened quarantine measures.
While the number of daily infection cases has remained unstable under the eased quarantine measures, people have returned to their daily routines, and high-risk venues such as nightclubs, bars and singing rooms have reopened.
As of noon Thursday, the KDCA reported 20 more cases linked to SRC Hospital, a rehabilitation and treatment center in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, bringing the total number of cases there to 106. Three more patients were traced from Haeddeurak, a senior care hospital in Busan, raising its total to 84.
Two medical centers in Gyeonggi Province, one located in Gunpo and another in Anyang, have reported 26 new infections combined. Dana Psychiatric Hospital in Dobong District, northeastern Seoul, reported one more infection, bringing its total to 69.
Meanwhile, Thursday's imported cases have fallen to 17, down half from 34 cases on Wednesday. Nine people tested positive upon arrival at airport, while eight tested positive while staying at self-quarantine facilities.
Following recent outbreaks in several elderly care hospitals across the country, the health authorities have launched a nationwide inspection into 1,476 medical centers, 6,124 nursing homes and 423 psychiatric hospitals on their infection management.
Seoul city has launched a preemptive diagnostic test on some 130,000 workers at mental hospitals and nursing homes. Another 30,000 senior citizens who frequently visit the facilities will be tested as well. The health authorities urged other local governments to follow suit.
Other high-risk facilities such as nightclubs and singing rooms will also be inspected throughout the next two weeks. If they are found to have violated quarantine measures, they will be subject to fines or will be closed for two weeks.
“Under social distancing Level 1, it is important for each individual to strictly follow sanitary practices such as washing hands and wearing masks. And local governments should strengthen monitoring and investigation for any violation of quarantine measures in high-risk facilities such as clubs and bars,” Yoon Tae-ho, a senior health ministry official, said during a press briefing.