COVID-19 Patients Increase by 31 Overnight to Total 82... 30 New Cases in Daegu and Gyeongbuk (Update)

Status of COVID-19 Cases in Korea as of 9 AM on February 20 [Data from Central Disease Control Headquarters]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] On the 20th, 31 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) were reported in South Korea all at once. Among them, 30 cases were from the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, and 1 case was additionally confirmed in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that as of 9 a.m. on this day, 31 additional COVID-19 patients were confirmed domestically. This result includes cases reported from 4 p.m. on the 19th until overnight. The cumulative number of confirmed cases surged from 51 in the afternoon of the previous day to 82.

Patients suspected to be linked to patient number 31 (born in 1959, Korean female), who was the first confirmed case in the Yeongnam region in Daegu Metropolitan City on the 18th, have been emerging rapidly. Among the 31 additional confirmed cases, 30 occurred in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, of which 23 were Shincheonji Daegu Church members and contacts who had been in contact with patient number 31. Two others were patients at a medical institution in Cheongdo, Gyeongbuk (Cheongdo Daenam Hospital), and five are currently under investigation by health authorities for their connection to patient number 31. Additionally, one patient residing in Seoul, who had pneumonia, was confirmed positive after visiting the screening clinic at Jongno-gu Public Health Center.

Source=Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters

Patient number 31 showed symptoms starting on the 7th and visited medical institutions, a hotel, and the Shincheonji Daegu Church in Daegu until undergoing diagnostic testing on the 17th. As more patients continue to emerge along this movement path, health authorities are conducting ongoing epidemiological investigations.

Meanwhile, no additional patients have been declared fully recovered as of this morning, maintaining the number of discharged patients among confirmed cases at 16. As of 9 a.m., 12,079 suspected cases with fever, cough, and other symptoms after traveling to China and other COVID-19 outbreak countries have been reported. This is an increase of 957 from 11,122 reported the previous afternoon. Among them, 10,446 tested negative, and 1,633 are still undergoing testing.