Small-Scale Group Infections Occur in the Capital Area Including Churches
Cumulative Confirmed Cases in the Capital Area... Seoul 909, Gyeonggi 894, Incheon 256
Health Authorities Repeatedly Urge Individuals to Follow Quarantine Rules
On the 3rd, at a large franchise cafe located in Jung-gu, Seoul, citizens are sitting face-to-face without masks, having conversations. Photo by Gayun Kim katekim221@asiae.co.kr
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] "Securing a seat at a cafe during lunchtime feels like a battle."
Recently, as the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spreads mainly in the metropolitan area, health authorities have strengthened the quarantine level to 'enhanced social distancing in daily life.' It is essentially a return to social distancing.
However, concerns are rising that local infections could spread as many citizens turn to cafes and restaurants during lunch hours and weekend leisure time. This is due to lowered vigilance amid the prolonged COVID-19 situation and the difficulty of following personal infection prevention rules such as wearing masks and maintaining physical distance in places like cafes due to their nature.
Following the cluster infections in metropolitan area churches, the daily number of new COVID-19 cases has exceeded 30. Although the number of new cases fluctuates depending on the situation, the overall spread has not yet been contained.
According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) as of 12 p.m. on the 4th, the number of new confirmed cases was 39. This marks four consecutive days with new cases in the 30s to 40s, following 35 on the 1st, 38 on the 2nd, and 49 on the 3rd.
Among these, 36 cases were confirmed in the metropolitan area: 14 in Seoul, 15 in Gyeonggi, and 7 in Incheon. Accordingly, the cumulative number of confirmed cases reached 11,629, with 2,059 in the metropolitan area. By region, Seoul has 909 cases, Gyeonggi 894, and Incheon 256.
On the 3rd, at a large franchise cafe located in Jung-gu, Seoul, citizens are sitting face-to-face without masks, having conversations. Photo by Gayun Kim katekim221@asiae.co.kr
Meanwhile, some citizens continue to visit cafes without wearing masks, sitting closely together and chatting, showing disregard for prevention guidelines, which has drawn criticism.
Since COVID-19 spreads through droplets and close contact, experts point out that facing each other at close distances and having long conversations can increase the risk of infection.
A man in his 20s working in Jung-gu, Seoul, identified as A, said, "I recently visited a nearby franchise cafe during lunch and was surprised to see it packed with people." He added, "Everyone was talking closely without masks."
A said, "It's a cafe, so I understand it's hard to avoid this due to the nature of the place, but it seemed like no one was aware of the risk. I suddenly thought that if even one person gets infected here, it could spread to everyone. So I didn't touch anything and just took out my coffee quickly."
B, a 23-year-old university student preparing for exams, said, "I often go to cafes to work on assignments or study for exams." He added, "Many other students also visit cafes, so near the school, it's often hard to find a seat if you go even a little late."
B said, "It's true that staying indoors quietly can make you feel suffocated and take off your mask. But I don't think this is just a problem with people in cafes. If you think that way, then people shouldn't go to restaurants in groups, and companies shouldn't hold face-to-face meetings either. This isn't social distancing, so I think restricting every aspect of daily life like this is not right."
On the afternoon of the 2nd, Myeongdong Street in Jung-gu, Seoul. Citizens who came out to the street during lunchtime are walking / Photo by Kay Kim katekim221@asiae.co.kr
Experts have suggested that it is necessary to strengthen quarantine measures specifically in the metropolitan area.
Professor Eom Jung-sik, an infectious disease specialist at Gachon University Gil Medical Center, said, "The number of confirmed cases has increased (compared to last month) due to community infections," emphasizing, "But the real problem is that the number of people whose transmission routes are hard to trace keeps increasing."
Professor Eom advised, "In a situation where transmission continues, it must be cut off through physical methods like social distancing. Since the effects of social distancing can be seen 2 to 3 weeks after implementation, it should be done now."
Meanwhile, since the 29th of last month until the 14th of this month, health authorities have ordered public and multi-use facilities in the metropolitan area to refrain from operating or to suspend operations. Additionally, events hosted by government and public institutions in the metropolitan area have been canceled or postponed.
Jung Eun-kyung, head of the CDSCH, said at a regular briefing held at the Osong Disease Control Headquarters in Chungbuk on the 4th, "Looking at the ages of patients recently confirmed in the metropolitan area, many are elderly and middle-aged people over 40," urging strict adherence to infection prevention rules.
Jung added, "We are concerned that if social distancing is not observed and another large-scale outbreak occurs in a closed environment, it might be discovered too late for health authorities to control." She explained, "Considering the characteristics of COVID-19, complete eradication is difficult, so our current medical system is controlling the outbreak by suppressing it as much as possible at a manageable level."
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