South Korea continues to struggle with a cluster infection in Itaewon that already saw over 200 confirmed COVID-19 cases. The crisis ensues as the country reported 25 new cases on Sunday.

Itaewon Cluster Still Alive

Of the 25 new infections on Sunday, 17 were locally-transmitted cases, a statement from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) revealed. It is unclear how many of the new cases have links to the Itaewon cluster.

However, health experts are focused on containing the growth of new clusters detected around the Seoul area, beginning with the 29-year-old man who visited multiple clubs earlier this month.

While new cases have stayed below 30 for three days in a row, the government has been on high alert since earlier this month due to the birth of a new cluster in Itaewon, especially as schools have started reopening.

Itaewon Cluster Had a Western Route?

During a media briefing on Friday, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Jung Eun-kyeong said the agency assumes "it is highly possible that people who arrived from the US and Europe" were the ones who transmitted COVID-19 across Itaewon nightclubs.

Jung went on to reveal that the agency believes the Itaewon's infection route did not begin in North Gyeongsang Province or Daegu, as initially believed due to the previous clusters detected in the said areas.

Furthermore, Jung explained that the agency estimates the coronavirus which may have been imported from the west could have started as early as March, when Seoul was accepting foreign arrivals.

KCDC analysts worked on samples from over 140 infected patients and 55 of the samples shared the same genome that was traced to have come either from Europe or the United States.

The news came over a week after health authorities in South Korea first reported that they have yet to determine the infection route of the Itaewon cluster and studies were still ongoing.

'Noraebang' Facilities to be Inspected

Aside from the Itaewon nightclub cluster, there was also a string of infections in "noraebang" or karaoke facilities in Seoul. As part of the local government's efforts to prevent further COVID-19 infections in the said facilities, all coin-operated karaoke rooms were suspended on Friday.

Seoul mayor Park Won-soon said the administrative order of suspending noraebangs in the city was rolled out due to the many coin-operated karaoke rooms being poorly ventilated and monitored by workers. Noraebangs across the city will also be inspected until the last day of the month.

Due to the new confirmed cases in closed spaces, health authorities are also closely watching the potential spike of cases in internet cafes and even bars.

Manned karaoke facilities were not ordered to be shut down but Park warned that these establishments should still practice proper social distancing and quarantine guidelines to prevent new coronavirus infections linked to karaoke rooms.

As of Sunday, South Korea logged a total of 11,190 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 266 deaths linked to the fast-spreading disease.