[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] Among domestic confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the proportion of patients with unknown infection routes is setting new daily records.
According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) on the 19th, among the 1,883 newly confirmed cases reported to health authorities over the past two weeks from the 6th of this month to the present, 530 cases, or 28.1%, are still under investigation for their infection routes. This is the highest figure since the health authorities began releasing related statistics in April.
The proportion of patients with unidentified infection routes began to gradually increase since mid-last month and has recently maintained a steady level in the 20% range. From the 15th onward, the daily rates have consecutively broken records at 25.0% → 25.4% → 26.4% → 26.8% → 28.1%.
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, it is crucial to quickly identify and isolate sources of infection and their contacts. However, sporadic infections have been occurring in various places recently, and with over 100 confirmed cases daily, it has become increasingly difficult to trace infection routes.
Despite the gradual easing of the spread since mid-August when cluster outbreaks were concentrated in the metropolitan area, health authorities are closely monitoring the situation where the proportion of patients with unclear infection routes remains consistently in the 20% range. Under the current social distancing guidelines, this proportion is one of the key indicators, with the threshold for Level 1 set at below 5%.
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