South Korea's coronavirus cases surge raising fears of second wave
The number of daily coronavirus infections rose for the third consecutive day in South Korea raising fears of a second wave of the outbreak. The nation reported 79 new cases on Thursday, the highest spike since April 5. Earlier this year, South Korea had earned praise for limiting the outbreak with its robust testing program, even without a lockdown. Here are more details.
South Korea Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said at least 69 cases reported in the past week were linked to a cluster of infections at a logistics facility operated by Coupang Corp. Coupang Corp is one of the country's largest e-commerce firms located in Bucheon, west of Seoul. The warehouse cluster seems to be linked to a cluster that emerged in several Seoul nightclubs early-May.
Around 4,100 workers and visitors to Coupang's warehouse building were under self-isolation, South Korea's Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said according to Agence France-Presse. 80% of them have been tested so far. He said, "We are expecting the number of new cases linked to the warehouse to continue rising until today as we wrap up related tests."
According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the 79 new cases took the nation's tally to 11,344 with 269 deaths. It is reportedly the largest increase since 81 cases were announced on April 5. South Korea had been fighting against COVID-19 without a strict lockdown, but if cases continue to rise, officials said they may consider issuing new guidelines.
KCDC Director Jeong Eun-kyeong said, "The number of people or locations we have to trace are increasing geometrically." She added, "We will do our best to trace contacts and implement preventive measures, but there's a limit to such efforts. There's a need to maximize social distancing in areas where the virus is circulating, to force people to avoid public facilities and other crowded spaces."
Recently, South Korea had relaxed social distancing rules, reopening museums, churches, etc. It had also allowed the resumption of some professional sports, such as baseball and soccer, albeit behind closed doors. Since last week, some students have been starting to return to classes, however, some schools were forced to turn them away amid concerns of new cases in the neighborhood.
