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| Medical staff at a public health center in Seoul's Yeongdeungpo District carry out coronavirus tests, Monday, after the country saw a sudden hike in the number of COVID-19 infections that were linked to nightclubs and bars in Itaewon. / Yonhap |
By Jun Ji-hye
The central government and municipal administrations are going all out to locate people who went clubbing in Itaewon between April 24 and May 6, as the number of COVID-19 cases linked to five nightclubs and bars in Seoul's popular nightlife spot jumped to 86 Monday, six days after the first case was reported.
According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), 14 more COVID-19 infections linked to the clubs were confirmed as of 12 p.m., bringing the total number of related cases to 86.
Of the 86 patients, 63 visited the clubs, and 23 others were either their family members or acquaintances.
"We are carrying out epidemiological investigations to find out how many people the patients have come in to contact with," KCDC Director Jung Eun-kyeong said during a briefing.
The infections began when a 29-year-old man tested positive for COVID-19, May 6, after visiting five nightclubs and bars in Itaewon from the night of May 1 to the early hours of May 2, at a time when the situation nationwide here was showing clear signs of a slowdown, with most new infections over the previous week having been "imported" ones.
Health officials are calling on everyone who visited the Itaewon clubs during the given period to voluntarily report to the authorities and take coronavirus tests amid fears that the related infections could get out of control.
Fears over a possible nationwide transmission are deepening as people who visit the multicultural district are mostly in their 20s and 30s who usually live an active life at work and in other communities.
The KCDC said, among the 86 patients, 58 were in their 20s, while 18 were in their 30s, adding that 34.8 percent of the patients showed no symptoms associated with the coronavirus.
The confirmed patients include a nurse, soldiers and a call center worker, the authorities said, expressing concerns that those cases could lead to infection clusters.
Officials, however, are facing difficulties in tracing other club-goers due to inaccurate entry logs, in addition to noncooperation of some who are afraid of having their identities revealed.
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said in a separate briefing that the city government secured a list of 5,517 people who were believed to have visited Itaewon clubs during the period in question, but city officials have failed to contact 3,112 by telephone.
"This means that the 3,112 people are not taking our calls intentionally, or wrote fake phone numbers in the first place," Park said. "We have already asked mobile carriers to submit a list of people whose mobile phones were connected to base stations in Itaewon. We also asked the Ministry of Health and Welfare and police for cooperation."
Park said the city government will offer "anonymous" testing for those who do not want to reveal their identities.
Meanwhile, the KCDC said it detected 35 new cases Sunday, which brought the nation's total infections to 10,909. Among the 35, 29 were linked to the Itaewon clubs. The death toll remained unchanged at 256.
Fourteen cases detected Monday were not included in the total number as it was an emergency announcement aimed at delivering information promptly to citizens amid concerns over infection clusters.
