No. of patient recoveries exceeds new cases for 1st time

A Salvation Army officer puts a pack of face masks into a charity pot during a mask donation campaign in central Seoul, Friday. Donated masks and other hygiene products will be delivered to street cleaners and apartment guards amid concerns over COVID-19 infections. Yonhap

Government struggles to contain outbreak at Sejong complex

By Jun Ji-hye

The number of fully recovered COVID-19 patients exceeded that of daily new infections, Thursday, for the first time since Korea reported its first infection, Jan. 20, the health authorities said Friday. They added that this could be a turning point in the fight against the highly contagious disease.

However, the government is still on high alert as new coronavirus cases at the Government Complex in Sejong, which houses 35 ministries and government agencies with about 15,000 workers, have continued to increase, sparking concerns over a potential cluster infection.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) announced Friday that it detected 110 new cases Thursday, bringing the nation's number of total infections to 7,979.

So far, 69 patients have died from the virus, most of whom were elderly patients with underlying illnesses.

The number of patients discharged from hospitals after being declared virus-free stood at 177 on the same day, overtaking the number of new infections.

It marked the first time that the daily number of patients recovering from the disease reached more than 100.

The KCDC said a total of 510 patients have been discharged from hospitals so far.

“The number of recovering people began to increase Thursday, about three weeks after Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province saw a surge of virus infections,” Yoon Tae-ho, a senior health ministry official who is in charge of quarantine designation, said during a briefing.

He attributed the improvement to the government's active diagnostic checks that have contributed to discovering infections at an early stage.

New cases in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, which have had most confirmed infections with a major cluster of infections linked to the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church, have been showing a decreasing trend. Seoul's biggest-yet cluster of COVID-19 infections, which occurred at an insurance company's call center, has also stabilized.

But Yoon said the government still remains vigilant as the virus is continuing to spread around the world, which raises the possibility of another inflow of the virus from other countries.

“Mass infections at places such as nursing homes and call centers have also occurred sporadically,” Yoon said. “The government will mobilize every possible means to prevent sporadic cluster infections and the spread in local communities.”

At least 30 civil servants working at the Government Complex in Sejong have been diagnosed with the new coronavirus as of 4 p.m., Friday, most of whom are from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

Last week, the government complex reported its first case in a civil servant working at the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

The situation at the nation's main government complex is raising concerns over the possibility of an administrative vacuum.

The government set up a drive-thru coronavirus testing facility at the complex in order to provide prompt checkups.

Meanwhile, the health authorities are also paying keen attention on movements of Shincheonji followers as the anniversary of the founding of the church is on Saturday.

The church, which has held a large-scale event to celebrate the anniversary every year, said it was not going to hold such an event this time due to COVID-19 concerns.

But authorities are monitoring the possibility of church members holding small events behind closed doors.