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| Quarantine workers disinfect a bus at a local depot in Jungnang District, northeastern Seoul, Thursday, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the capital. /Yonhap |
Seoul city to ban gatherings of 10 or more people from today
By Kim Se-jeong
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 288 new COVID-19 infections for Wednesday, the third straight day of over 200, with an increasing number outside the Seoul metropolitan area, signaling that the nationwide spread is becoming a reality and that it will be a while until the number of cases decreases.
Locating participants in an anti-government rally held last Saturday in Seoul has become the biggest challenge for the authorities.
"We have found 53 so far and they were scattered through nine provinces and cities nationwide. Also, 70 percent of them involved people in their 60s or older," Kim Gang-lip, a senior official responsible for the government response to COVID-19, said Thursday morning. Later in the day, the government added eight more cases.
The authorities were continuing to track down the rally participants Thursday, using data provided by telecommunications and charter bus companies, but still fell far short of tracking the 10,000 participants.
A breakdown of the 288 cases also showed the nationwide spread of the virus.
According to the KCDC, out of the 288, Busan reported 15 cases Wednesday, up six from the previous day; Daejeon eight, up three; North Gyeongsang Province five, up two; and South Gyeongsang Province three, up one.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government has banned all gatherings of 10 people or more across the city from today, in an attempt to prevent the spread of the virus.
The authorities said the cases were posing a big challenge to the quarantine authorities due to unclear transmission routes.
Speaking with the Munwha Ilbo, Dr. Chun Byung-youl from Cha University said the infection rate nationwide could be quite high. "If 100 random people from Gangnam Station took a virus test today, it would be impossible to predict the number with the infection."
According to the KCDC, the country's total caseload is now 16,346, with 307 fatalities to date.
Among the 288 new infections, 62 were linked to the Sarang Jeil Church, which now has 676 confirmed cases tied to it. The quarantine authorities are still trying to locate 700 other church members.
A scheduled strike by doctors is another challenge for the authorities. Interns and residents who work at big medical centers and their emergency rooms are expected to go on strike today, followed by another one Aug. 26 with a bigger participation by doctors across the country.
Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung warned residents of the possible collapse of the healthcare system and advised people to stay home.
"The crisis is entering a new phase which could be as bad as a tsunami. We need to be prepared for the worst case scenario in which the healthcare system will collapse. The government is now trying whatever it can to provide basic medical services," the governor said.
President Moon Jae-in urged the religious community to cooperate with the government's measures actively.
