South Korea enjoyed what appeared to be a gradual recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak around mid-April and throughout the end of the month. However, things took a drastic turn after new clusters were detected around Itaewon night clubs.
Around 85 Cases Linked to Nightclubs
Over the past two weeks, at least 85 confirmed coronavirus patients are believed to have been infected by the novel coronavirus in nightclubs around the Itaewon area, a Seoul district where residents are big on nightlife, CNN reported.
On Sunday alone, all of the 29 new local transmissions in South Korea were traced back to clubs in Itaewon, raising concerns about just how many people were actually infected after a single person walked around the area on May 1.
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon has since urged people who visited nightclubs over the past two weeks to get tested. All bars and nightclubs in the South Korean capital of Seoul were also shut down until further notice as part of the efforts to prevent further infections.
S.Korea's Containment Methods Put to the Test Again
Following weeks of apparent success in holding back new domestically-transmitted COVID-19 cases in the country, the South Korean government's coronavirus containment measures have been put to the test once more.
According to the Yonhap News Agency, the Seoul government has since come up with a list of over 5,500 people who visited Itaewon clubs from April 24 through May 6. Of the massive list, around 3,000 people have yet to be traced and tested for potential infection.
The resurgence in coronavirus cases across South Korea and especially in Seoul came roughly a week after the government started easing out of strict social distancing rules that were set in place in February.
Instead of imported cases potentially awakening a second wave of COVID-19 outbreak in the country, South Korean health officials are now more concerned about local transmissions from clubbers.
Itaewon Clubs' Patient Zero
Patient zero of the ballooning Itaewon club clusters is a 29-year-old man from Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. He visited five clubs in Itaewon on the evening of May 1 through early morning of May 2. He was also believed to have walked around other neighboring districts.
Among the clubs in questions are Club Queen, Trunk Club, and King Club. Patient zero tested positive of the COVID-19 strain on May 6 and the government has since warned of a potential quick spike in new cluster infections around Seoul.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said in a media briefing that as of the afternoon of Monday, 63 people who visited clubs in Itaewon have since tested positive. Another 23 people are relatives and friends of infected clubbers.
Some Missing Contacts Accused of Intentionally Avoiding Testing
South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said in a meeting with officials that the "top priority is to minimize the spread of the infections in the greater Seoul area."
According to Al Jazeera, Chung called on local governments to mobilize as many staffers as possible to track down and test the remaining thousands of people who should get tested to hasten tracing and determine the extent of infection among clubbers.
Some authorities have argued that some of the persons who have yet to be contacted may be intentionally avoiding getting COVID-19 testing.
Due to the new cluster infections, the Seoul education department has since proposed delaying the supposed reopening of schools on Wednesday. The proposal was to delay school reopening by at least one week.
South Korea now has a total of 10,909 confirmed coronavirus cases and 256 deaths.
