Continued Spread During Social Distancing Level 4, Seoul City "Consulting with Government on Additional Measures"

On the 29th, citizens who completed their vaccinations were waiting to monitor for adverse reactions at the vaccination center set up at Bukahyeon Culture and Sports Center in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. The number of first-dose COVID-19 vaccine recipients in the country increased by 477,853 the previous day, reaching a total of 18,382,137. This accounts for 35.8% of the total population. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that despite the implementation of Level 4 social distancing, the spread of COVID-19 remains persistent, and it will continue to consult with the government on whether additional measures are necessary.

On the 29th, Song Eun-cheol, head of the Infectious Disease Control Division of Seoul, said at a COVID-19 briefing, "If it is judged that stabilizing the quarantine situation is difficult through the current Level 4 measures, an in-depth review of whether additional measures are needed is necessary," adding, "We will continue to consult with the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters while monitoring the spread of infections to determine what additional measures are required."

In Seoul, aside from recent cluster infection cases, the number of confirmed cases due to small-scale gatherings and person-to-person transmission is increasing. Song explained, "There are more hidden infections in the community than ever before," and "A thick layer of residual infections has formed, and with the Delta variant becoming the dominant strain, the infectiousness has increased."

He continued, "Seoul has many densely populated areas, so the proportion of contacts with confirmed cases is increasing, and the spread is not slowing down." On the 28th, 515 new confirmed cases were identified in Seoul in one day. Although this is 58 fewer than the 573 cases on the 27th, it is 16 more than the 499 cases reported a week earlier on the 21st. Accordingly, the positivity rate rose to 0.9%, up from 0.8% the previous day. The number of tests decreased from 60,486 on the 27th to 60,144 on the 28th.

Meanwhile, an investigation revealed that the cluster infection confirmed at the Seosomun Government Complex in Seoul is linked to a sauna in Dongjak-gu. On the same day, Seoul explained that after one sauna user was first confirmed positive on the 21st, 14 more cases were confirmed on the 27th, and 18 additional cases on the 28th, with 12 of the confirmed cases on the 28th classified as public institution workers.

Seoul stated, "After the sauna user was confirmed positive, additional transmission occurred to workers and their families, and further transmission was identified among public institution workers located in Jung-gu where the additional confirmed cases work." The Seoul Metropolitan Government required 1,635 city hall employees to undergo testing.