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| Arrivals from abroad leave South Korea's Incheon International Airport, June 23. Yonhap |
South Korea's new coronavirus cases spiked again Wednesday as cluster infections in the greater Seoul area and outside the capital continued to increase. A sustained rise in imported cases also put health officials on high alert.
The country added 51 cases, including 31 local infections, raising the total caseload to 12,535, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).
The tally marked a rise from 46 new cases reported Tuesday and 17 additional cases Monday, the lowest in almost a month.
Of the locally transmitted cases, 19 cases were reported in the densely populated Seoul and nearby metropolitan areas. Eight cases were reported in Daejeon, about 160 kilometers south of Seoul.
Community spread is the main challenge for health authorities, as sporadic cluster infections have continued to swell since the country relaxed strict social distancing on May 6 on the back of the flattened virus curve.
The KCDC said the Seoul metropolitan area is already in the second wave of the new coronavirus outbreak, warning that the country should brace for a protracted virus fight. The first wave of the virus outbreak gripped the country between February and March.
South Korea reported 20 additional imported cases, raising the total of such cases to 1,491.
Imported cases have emerged as a new source of concern for health authorities, with most tied to sailors on a Russia-flagged cargo ship that docked in the southeastern city of Busan, the country's second-largest city.
At least 16 sailors aboard the Ice Stream tested positive for COVID-19. Another sailor on a Russia-flagged vessel that docked near the ship was also infected with the virus.
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| Sailors from a Russian refrigeration ship docked at Gamcheon Port in Busan who were tested positive with COVID-19 are escorted to Busan Medical Center, June 23. Yonhap |
Cluster infections on the Russian cargo ship laid bare a loophole in quarantine procedures at ports.
Port and quarantine officials permitted the Ice Stream to disembark at a Busan port and unload cargo, but the ship had submitted falsified electronic documents over its quarantine situation.
The operator of the ship did not inform South Korea that three of its sailors showed symptoms of high fever. Russia also did not notify the South that the captain who got off the ship a week earlier tested positive for the virus.
Health officials are conducting virus tests on 176 port workers, repairmen and sailors from another Russian ship who came into contact with the infected crewmembers.
Amid a continued rise in cluster infections, health authorities warned that they could consider expanding tougher infection preventive measures ― currently in place only in the Seoul metropolitan area ― across the country.
The Seoul metropolitan area accounted for most of the newly added cases this month.
South Korea has been gripped by multiple and sporadic cluster infections, with most traced to door-to-door retailers, churches and day care centers for senior citizens.
The country, meanwhile, reported no additional deaths, bringing the total death toll to 281. The fatality rate was 2.24 percent.
The total number of people released from quarantine after full recoveries stood at 10,930, up 22 from the previous day.
The country has carried out 1,208,597 tests since Jan. 3. (Yonhap)
