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Medical staff members (in blue robes) guide visitors waiting to be tested for coronavirus in Itaewon, Seoul, on May 12, 2020. AFP via The Straits Times / Asia News Network
SEOUL – It is still too early to declare victory against the coronavirus pandemic. The new groups have resurfaced in Seoul in South Korea and Wuhan in China after the controls were eased, prompting their governments to revive the closings and increase efforts to test and trace. Countries must move slowly and steadily, says the WHO, and be vigilant against a second wave of infections.
South Korea is leveraging mobile phone data and credit card records in a total effort to reach people potentially exposed to the coronavirus in a new club-linked cluster outbreak in Seoul’s Itaewon nightlife district, as the number of infections increased to 102.
Sixty-four of them are people who visited clubs, while the rest are family members, friends, and colleagues.
The total number of cases in the country yesterday was 10,936, with 258 deaths.
It remains a mystery how the first patient from Itaewon, a 29-year-old resident of the nearby city of Yongin who went to the clubs on May 1 and 2 and is now labeled a super lord, caught the virus despite not traveling. abroad and have no contact with previous cases. .
As a result, the authorities have decided to expand the scope of contact tracing. Authorities are asking people who visited Itaewon from April 24 to May 6 to undergo tests. Previously, they focused on the long weekend from April 30 to May 5.
Kwon Jun-wook, deputy director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), noted that the infections date back not to one but to several clubs, and that some cases have no apparent ties to the first patient.
The superamator had visited King Club, Trunk, Queen, Soho and HIM, all known to be gay bars.
Now popular with young men and women and constantly attracting long queues, Club Made is feared to be another hot spot, after a 20-year-old man tested positive on Sunday. He had visited the club on May 2, but had not been to any of the places where the superpropagator had gone.
Nine of the 51 clubs in Itaewon are known to have confirmed cases, according to authorities.
Mr. Kwon said his assessment is that “silent broadcasts” had been occurring in the community but exploded after hitting the clubs.
Many clubs in Itaewon are underground, with little or no ventilation, and clubbers tend to dance, drink, and bow together to talk, all without wearing face masks.
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon warned of a high risk of infection as there is uncertainty about the source of the broadcasts and that 36% of confirmed cases showed no symptoms.
He also urged people who visited Itaewon from April 24 to May 6 to cooperate with the authorities and undergo tests.
Tracing contacts has become a challenge as the gay community in South Korea does not want to be identified due to concerns about privacy and discrimination.
About 2,000 of the 5,517 visitors from the first five clubs identified in the outbreak remain contactable. Authorities said many of them may have given false numbers when asked to complete an entry log book before entering the clubs, a precautionary measure required by authorities.
Park said the city received a list of 10,905 people who used their mobile phones near the five clubs from April 24 to May 6, and texted them asking them to undergo tests and to stay home for 14 days. . The numbers were provided by mobile phone operators and the police.
The same message was also sent to 494 people who used their credit cards in the area. This list was provided by credit card companies.
The KCDC said it has so far conducted 13,000 tests related to the Itaewon cluster.
Most of the people showed up voluntarily, and the numbers increased after officials promised anonymity on Monday. A total of 6,544 tests were carried out on Monday, compared to 3,500 the previous day.
The new group emerged when South Korea began loosening strict social distancing rules beginning May 6 to allow people to resume daily life amid a slower daily rate of infections.
The country now faces the risk of a second wave of infections, after many people became complacent during the long six-day weekend from April 30 to May 5, and went on a trip or partying.
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