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| Staffers at a hospital in Daegu clean a ward, Friday, after COVID-19 patients who had been hospitalized there were discharged from the hospital. The city that was once considered the local epicenter of the virus outbreak reported no new cases for the first time in 52 days. / Yonhap |
By Jun Ji-hye
The southern city of Daegu, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in Korea, saw no new cases for the first time since the city's first patient was reported, Feb. 18, according to health authorities Friday.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said the total number of patients in the city has remained at 6,807 for two days from Wednesday.
After the confirmation of the city's first and the country's 31st patient, who was linked to the Daegu branch of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, massive infections occurred at the city, with the daily number of patients reaching its peak at 741 on Feb. 29.
"A high level of social distancing for the last three weeks seems to have made results now," Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said in a briefing. "But it is premature to prejudge the situation with the daily number of patients."
He said a second wave of infections could come at any time, calling on the people to continue physical distancing.
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While the number of new infections fell to below 30 for the first time since Feb. 20, health authorities are still on high alert amid lingering concerns over the protracted public health crisis.
In particular, municipal administrations are paying keen attention to religious groups as many churches are expected to hold offline worship services on Easter Sunday, despite the government recommendation to have online meetings.
"Last week, 1,914 churches pushed ahead with face-to-face meetings, and the number is expected to increase by 10 percent this week as many churches are moving to hold Easter services," said Na Baek-ju who heads the citizens' health bureau at the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
The Seoul city government is cooperating with district offices to persuade churches to cease offline services and will increase its site inspection activities over the weekend, he said.
Meanwhile, the government decided to file a complaint against a Korean student for violating the Quarantine Act as he was found to have lied to quarantine officials at Incheon International Airport, March 25, when he came back from the United States.
The student studying in Kansas began to show symptoms, March 23, but wrote "no symptoms" when filling out health documents at the airport. He was able to deceive quarantine officials as he took many fever reducers before his flight.
He went home to Busan without going through a coronavirus test at the airport, and tested positive just one day later.
Amid mounting calls from Korean nationals living overseas for more chartered planes to return them to Korea, local budget carrier T'way Air sent a plane to Kyrgyzstan, also Friday.
The plane carrying some 150 Koreans living in the Central Asian country will arrive at the Incheon airport at 8:20 p.m., Saturday.
The firm said the Korean Embassy in Kyrgyzstan had asked for the chartered plane.
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