[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] As the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in South Korea dropped to around 100 for two consecutive days, showing a slight slowdown in the spread, new confirmed cases were still reported across the country on this day.
On the 13th, Seoul city announced that as of 5 p.m., the cumulative number of new COVID-19 cases in the city was 240. This is an increase of 9 cases from 231 as of 10 a.m. that day. Among the confirmed cases in Seoul, the number of confirmed cases related to the call center in Sindorim-dong, Guro-gu, remained unchanged at 74 during the 24 hours following the announcement at 5 p.m. the previous day. Of the 74 cases, 53 were call center employees and 21 were their family members.
In Seoul, the scale of the COVID-19 cluster infection in Dongdaemun-gu is growing day by day. According to Dongdaemun-gu, a 26-year-old male resident of Hwikyung-dong (Dongdaemun-gu patient number 22), who used the Seven PC Bang, was confirmed positive on this day. Another user of Seven PC Bang (a 54-year-old male) and his mother (79 years old) were also confirmed positive on this day. They are managed as patients number 20 and 21 in Dongdaemun-gu.
Accordingly, the scale of the cluster infection in Dongdaemun-gu has increased to more than 16 people, including the evangelist of Dongan Church (Dongdaemun-gu patient number 2), five other church members who attended a church retreat together from the 20th to the 22nd of last month, and the users of Seven PC Bang and their families who had contact with the evangelist. This includes residents not only of Dongdaemun-gu but also of other areas such as Dongjak-gu and Seongbuk-gu.
This is a larger scale than the cluster outbreaks related to Eunpyeong St. Mary's Hospital (14 cases) or the cluster outbreak related to a mixed-use apartment complex in Seongdong-gu (13 cases), making it the second largest in Seoul after the Guro-gu Korea Building call center (112 cases).
In Daegu, confirmed cases continued to emerge. On this day, a hospital in Daegu reported a large number of confirmed cases. According to Daegu city, 18 people, including 7 employees, 9 patients, and 2 family members of employees at K Madi Hospital in Buk-gu, were confirmed positive for COVID-19. Since the first COVID-19 patient was reported on the 22nd of last month, the number has increased over several days, with 7 additional positive cases identified on the 12th and 13th of this month. Infection tests are being conducted on about 30 people who had contact with the identified patients, so the number of confirmed cases may increase depending on the results.
Among call center employees in Daegu, 3 more confirmed cases were reported. According to Daegu city, additional investigations on the 12th confirmed that 3 employees from two call centers were newly diagnosed with COVID-19. As of the 13th, a total of 60 confirmed cases have been reported from 15 call centers in Daegu.
In Eumseong-gun, Chungbuk Province, a confirmed case was also reported. According to Chungbuk Province on this day, a 46-year-old female resident of Daeso-myeon, Eumseong-gun, was confirmed positive for COVID-19 around 6 p.m. This is the second confirmed case in Eumseong and the 28th in Chungbuk Province.
Confirmed cases continued to occur in the metropolitan area as well. In Incheon on this day, one resident of Yeonsu-gu was confirmed positive. This confirmed case was identified as having had dinner with another confirmed case in Mapo-gu, Seoul. This brings the total number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in Incheon to 28.
In Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, three additional confirmed cases were reported. Bucheon Mayor Jang Deokcheon announced on his social media that "three additional confirmed cases have occurred," adding that "they are three members of Saengmyeongsu Church in Sosabon-dong, where previous confirmed cases were reported." Including these three new cases, the cumulative number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in Bucheon has reached 30.
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