56 COVID-19 Cases Confirmed in Jeju... Second Highest Ever Recorded

211 Infections in the Past Week... Weekly Average of 30.14 Daily Confirmed Cases

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Chang-won] As the second highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases since the outbreak occurred in the Jeju area, health authorities have been put on high alert.

Jeju Special Self-Governing Province announced that as of 5 p.m. on the 6th, 56 people were confirmed positive, increasing the cumulative number of confirmed cases in the province to 3,915.

Since the beginning of this month, 184 people have tested positive, and in just the past week, a total of 211 cases were confirmed. The weekly average daily number of confirmed cases is 30.14.

In particular, the number of cases reported on this day is the second highest record since the COVID-19 "4th wave" in August.

Jeju recorded its highest number of confirmed cases on August 15 with 64 cases, and the daily confirmed cases exceeded 50 three times in August.

Recently in Jeju, the spread has sharply increased due to the aftermath of new cluster infections occurring daily after the phased daily recovery (With COVID) implemented from November 1.

The main causes of the spread are considered to be cluster infections centered on teenagers, who still have many unvaccinated individuals, breakthrough infections among the elderly aged 60 and over, and an increase in travelers and private gatherings due to the daily recovery measures.

Looking at the infection routes of the new confirmed cases on this day, 44 were contacts of confirmed cases within the province, 2 were contacts of confirmed cases from other regions, and 10 were symptomatic individuals suspected of COVID-19.

The main cause of the rapid increase in confirmed cases is attributed to a cluster infection that occurred at a middle school in Jeju City. Among the 44 contacts of confirmed cases within the province, 24 were related to cluster infection cases, and 23 of these were classified as a new cluster infection case at the "Jeju City Middle School."

The "Jeju City Middle School" cluster infection was classified as a new cluster infection by the provincial health authorities after 1 confirmed case on the 4th, 2 on the 5th, and 23 on the 6th were confirmed in a mass outbreak.

So far, a total of 26 people, including students and teachers, have been confirmed positive related to the "Jeju City Middle School" cluster.

Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Chang-won captain@asiae.co.kr