New virus cases jump over 100 amid Halloween concerns

A medical worker takes a break at a public health center in Seoul's Gangnam District, Wednesday. / Yonhap

By Jun Ji-hye

New daily COVID-19 infections in Korea rebounded back to over 100, after three days of remaining in double digits, raising concerns over a possible surge in cases in the aftermath of Halloween parties.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported Wednesday that the nation added 118 new infections for Tuesday, raising the total caseload to 26,925, and a sharp rise from 75 identified Monday.

Among the 118, local cases stood at 98, and among them, patients in Seoul and the metropolitan area accounted for nearly 86 percent.

The health authorities are on guard against further increases this week, mindful of the possibility that Halloween celebrations held Saturday could have sparked another wave of infections, as many young people gathered at clubs and bars in popular areas in the capital such as Itaewon, Hongdae and Gangnam to enjoy the weekend, despite warnings of potential infections.

The average incubation period for the coronavirus is about five days, according to the KDCA.

The authorities are also expressing concerns over the possibility that continuous sporadic infection clusters, that have grown from human interactions related to everyday activities nationwide, could lead to another mass outbreak at any time.

Such concerns have been raised because recent COVID-19 clusters have been reported not only at hospitals and nursing homes, but also social gatherings, gyms, schools, workplaces and saunas.

“Infections centered on the Seoul metropolitan area continue to be reported,” Yoon Tae-ho, a senior health ministry official in charge of containment measures, said during a regular briefing. “The speed of transmission is believed to be faster than the speed of our epidemiological investigations and antivirus measures.”

What is adding to the concerns is that the weather is becoming much colder, raising the likelihood of a “twindemic” ― an overlap of the flu season with a possible surge in coronavirus cases this winter.

Despite growing concerns over the spread of infections caused by the Halloween celebrations, the government is expected to implement the new Level 1 social distancing scheme, beginning Saturday, under its revised distancing measures, announced Nov. 1.

The government revised its three-tier social distancing system, subdividing Level 1 and Level 2 into two to create five tiers, in a bid to respond to the virus situation more flexibly.

Under the new measures, Level 1 ― the lowest level ― is imposed when the average daily infections in the Seoul metropolitan area remain below 100.

Meanwhile, the authorities said they are closely watching the recent spike in the number of virus infections in other countries such as the United States, Europe and some Middle Eastern countries.

“The total number of cases around the world is expected to reach 50 million early next week,” said Kwon Joon-wook, deputy director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, noting that Korea's virus situation was still under control.