COVID-19 cases linked to Seoul clubs reach 102

Seoul, May 12 (IANS) New COVID-19 connected to bars and clubs in Seoul’s multicultural district of Itaewon have reached 102, South Korean health authorities said on Tuesday, amid concerns the figure may rise after more visitors were tested for the deadly disease.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said that as of Tuesday noon, 102 confirmed cases have been traced to the Itaewon cluster, with 64, or more than half of the total infections, reported in Seoul, reports Yonhap News Agency.

This marks the biggest cluster infection in the capital city after 98 cases were reported in relation to a call center in the city’s southwestern ward of Guro earlier.

Earlier in the day, the KCDC said the country’s overall tally has now increased to 10,936, while the death toll stood at 256.

Health authorities have been on alert after a 29-year-old tested positive after visiting five clubs and bars in Itaewon on May 1-2, in the first local infection reported in a few days.

The case quickly swelled into an infection cluster, affecting not only the 73 who had been in Itaewon but also 29 who were infected through secondary transmission.

No tertiary transmission has been reported yet.

As of Tuesday, some 2,000 of 5,500 visitors who visited Itaewon clubs in the affected period were still not accounted for, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said the city has secured a list of 10,905 visitors in the area through data provided by mobile operators and it has sent text messages urging them to go through virus screening.

Due to the developments, 12 municipal governments, including Seoul, Daegu, Incheon and Daejeon, have ordered or were planning to impose an administrative order for shutdowns.

–IANS

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