Tag: coronavirus

This is a pretty amazing narrative of how COVID spread from Seoul to Daejeon:

Citizens in Daejeon, a central city about 150 kilometers south of Seoul, are getting restless as authorities announced Saturday a chain of coronavirus transmissions originating from a health care product business forum has infected 54 people so far.

Daejeon’s latest cluster infection began Aug. 25, when a Seoul resident infected with COVID-19 hosted the forum on health care goods at a building in the In-dong district in the city’s Dong Ward.

A Daejeon woman in her 50s, codenamed Daejeon 293rd Patient, contracted the coronavirus from the Seoul resident and has since spread the virus to 28 other people, including her family members and acquaintances, according to municipal health authorities.

Soon after the business forum, the woman, a resident of Gayang-dong, Dong Ward, met with a number of family members and acquaintances, infecting six of them.

One of her infected acquaintances, identified only as a man in his 60s, visited a restaurant in Gayang-dong later, triggering a chain of coronavirus transmissions in the local community, the authorities explained.

They noted it is regrettable that the man codenamed Daejeon 311th Patient had visited the Gayang-dong restaurant twice, on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, for 20 minutes each time despite showing symptoms, such as phlegm and loss of taste.

The coronavirus then jumped from the 311th patient to as many as 19 people, including the restaurant’s owner and a middle school student.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but this just shows how prolonged periods in enclosed spaces is where people are contracting this virus.

I wonder if this will be the new normal for Seoul? Not too long ago Seoul reported only 3 local virus cases:

 South Korea’s new virus cases stayed below 200 for the seventh consecutive day Wednesday, but health authorities are still on guard against sporadic cluster infections across the nation.

The country added 156 more COVID-19 cases, including 144 local infections, raising the total caseload to 21,588, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

It marked an increase from 136 new cases Thursday, which also slightly rose from 119 cases added the previous day, the fewest in 24 days.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but if this is the new normal of community virus spread in the Seoul area, it will be interesting to see how long the government can keep people locked down.

Seoul is not the only Northeast Asia capitol dealing with coronavirus cluster infections, Tokyo is as well:

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government on Sunday confirmed 148 additional cases of the novel coronavirus, the second lowest daily figure recorded in the capital this month.

The single-day figure brought Tokyo’s cumulative total to over 20,700 cases. The capital hit a record 472 on Aug. 1 and has seen daily cases in triple digits for every day in August bar last Monday, when it recorded 95 new infections, its lowest figure in over a month.

Japan Times

You can read more at the link, but Tokyo has decreasing case numbers and have done it without a lockdown which is what Seoul has implemented.

The number of coronavirus cases continues to grow in South Korea, but despite this there have been no new deaths which hardly gets reported:

Months after South Korea successfully flattened its coronavirus curve, the country, yet again at a crossroads in the face of the most daily new infections since early March, is inching closer to adopting the toughest-ever virus infection measures.

South Korea added 441 more COVID-19 cases Thursday, bringing the nation’s total caseload to 18,760, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Thursday’s daily tally marks the largest since March 7 when the country was reeling from a large outbreak in the southeastern city of Daegu and its neighboring North Gyeongsang Province tied to the minor religious sect, Shincheonji.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It appears the spread of the coronavirus in South Korea may be slowing:

South Korea has reported less than 300 new COVID-19 cases for the second consecutive day. 

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(KCDC) on Tuesday announced 280 cases compiled throughout the previous day, bringing the cumulative total to 17-thousand-945. 

The nation registered 266 cases on Monday after the daily tally hovered over 300 for three days in a row, including the five-month high of 397 on Sunday. 

KBS World

You can read more at the link.

I understand wanting a negative COVID test, but arriving USKF personnel are really not the issue of why the virus is currently spreading like it is:

U.S. soldiers will need a negative coronavirus test but face no restriction of movement before traveling to South Korea starting next week since the military already requires a two-week quarantine upon arrival, the Army said Sunday.

The announcement came as South Korea battled a new outbreak, with 397 new confirmed cases reported on Sunday, the largest number in 10 days of triple digit daily increases.

City officials in Seoul, meanwhile, said everybody will be required to wear masks in public except when eating or drinking starting Monday, tightening rules that already mandated face coverings on public transportation in the densely packed urban area. Local governments in the surrounding Gyeonggi province and the southern city of Daegu have done the same.

Stars and Stripes

You can read more at the link.

The spread of the coronavirus in South Korea is expanding to areas outside of Seoul:

South Korea’s daily new virus cases surpassed 300 again Saturday, and infections were reported in all major cities and provinces, as concerns are growing that the country is entering a new phase in the pandemic with infections spreading throughout the country.

The country added 332 more COVID-19 cases, including 315 local infections, raising the total caseload to 17,002, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

For the first time since the first case was confirmed in January, all of the country’s 17 major cities and provinces reported COVID-19 cases.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the article goes on to blame churches and the anti-government rally for the recent outbreak. Interestingly buried at the very end of the article is the fact that there has been no additional deaths reported with the death total remaining at an incredibly low 309 people.