COVID-19 Cases Back to 40s... Church Infection Spreading

(Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] On the 8th, the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) rose again to the 40s. This is due to the renewed spread of COVID-19, including cluster infections at churches in Gyeonggi-do.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) announced that as of midnight on this day, there were 43 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 14,562. This marks the return to the 40s in new daily cases after two days since the 6th (43 cases).

The daily new confirmed cases this month have fluctuated between 20 and 40, with counts of 31 → 30 → 23 → 34 → 33 → 43 → 20 → 43.

On this day, 30 of the new cases were locally transmitted, and 13 were imported. The 30 local cases represent the first time in 16 days since the 23rd of last month (39 cases) that the count reached the 30s, and it is also the highest number recorded.

The 30 new local cases were all from the Seoul metropolitan area: 16 in Seoul, 12 in Gyeonggi, and 2 in Incheon.

Looking at the infection cases, in Gyeonggi, as of noon the previous day, 7 additional cases were confirmed at each of 'Gippeum153 Church' and 'Banseok Church.' The cumulative confirmed cases at these locations have increased to 15 and 8, respectively.

In Seoul, one additional infection was confirmed in the 'Gangnam coffee shop and Yangjae-dong restaurant' cluster.

The number of imported confirmed cases has remained in double digits for 44 consecutive days since June 26. Of the 13 new imported cases on this day, 5 were detected during airport or port quarantine.

The remaining 8 tested positive while in self-quarantine at their residences or temporary living facilities in Seoul (1), Gyeonggi (6), and Daegu (1).

Regarding the nationality of the confirmed cases, 5 were Korean nationals and 8 were foreigners.

More than half were from the United States (4) and the Philippines (3), with one case each from Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, India, Russia, Austria, and Algeria.

Combining local and imported cases (excluding quarantine detections), the Seoul metropolitan area accounts for 37 cases: 18 in Gyeonggi, 17 in Seoul, and 2 in Incheon. Daegu reported 1 case.

The death toll increased by one, bringing the total to 304.