49 New COVID-19 Cases Reported Yesterday... All but One in the Seoul Metropolitan Area
As sporadic cases of the novel coronavirus infection continue to occur, starting today, first-year high school students, second-year middle school students, and third- to fourth-grade elementary school students have additionally begun their commute to school. On the 3rd, students are seen heading to school at Wolgok Elementary School in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] On the 3rd, 49 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) were recorded. Most of these cases were locally transmitted within the Seoul metropolitan area. As cluster infections through small church gatherings are increasing, and with the third phase of in-person attendance at elementary, middle, and high schools coinciding on this day, the health authorities have raised their alert level due to increased movement.
According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters for COVID-19, as of midnight on this day, 19 new cases were confirmed in Seoul. In Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, 17 and 12 new cases were added respectively. A total of 48 cases were reported in the metropolitan area, with one new case confirmed in Daegu outside the metropolitan area. The 49 new daily cases are close to the threshold of 50 cases set by the health authorities for maintaining the current social distancing measures.
Since 27 new cases were reported on the 31st of last month, the number has steadily increased for three consecutive days, mostly in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area. When looking only at the metropolitan area, the 48 new cases in one day rank as the fifth highest, including previous cluster infections such as the Guro Call Center in March and the Itaewon club cluster last month. During the Guro Call Center cluster, the highest number of daily new cases in the metropolitan area was on March 11, when 76 cases were confirmed in one day.
By infection route, three cases were classified as imported, while the remaining 46 were all infected within the local community. A significant number of community cases are presumed to have been infected by attending small gatherings at pioneering churches or pastoral meetings in Gunpo and Anyang, or through contact with attendees of these gatherings in the metropolitan area churches. In the case of the pioneering church cluster, which had 45 infections as of the previous day and has become another cluster infection, it is reported that over 70% of confirmed cases were asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis, suggesting that more cases are expected to emerge. This is likely because infected individuals were unaware of their status and may have transmitted the virus to family members and others around them.
Meanwhile, a total of 17,001 diagnostic tests were conducted in one day. This increase is attributed to the recent sporadic emergence of small cluster infections within the metropolitan area, which has significantly increased the number of people subject to testing, such as contacts of confirmed patients. The number of people released from quarantine increased by 21, bringing the total to 10,467. Although new cases increased, the total number of patients currently in isolation rose slightly to 850. One additional death was reported yesterday, raising the cumulative death toll to 273.
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