Outbreaks feared to continue after Chuseok

People in Daejeon wait outside a health clinic for COVID-19 testing on Thursday. Yonhap

By Kim Se-jeong

Korea's daily COVID-19 total was 69 on Wednesday, returning to double digits after spiking over 100 the previous day.

While many people began showing relief that more mass infections following the Chuseok holiday may no longer be a worry, several medical experts, including Dr. Kim Woo-joo from Korea University Guro Hospital in Seoul, said infections linked to the holiday have started and will continue.

"The seed has been planted for a quiet spread of the virus during the five-day long weekend," Kim said, adding that daily case totals will increase in the coming days. "An average incubation period for COVID-19 is five days and it will take another seven to 10 days for people to take the test and get the result."

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) Thursday confirmed new COVID-19 cases involving seven family members, including children, in Daejeon. They all traveled to a family burial site in Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province, on Oct. 1 and met other family members.

Authorities said the seven confirmed patients had close contact with at least 300 people after they returned to Daejeon.

More Chuseok-related cases have been linked to a village in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province. So far, 12 cases have been confirmed, but the number is expected to rise.

An outdoor wedding reception was held in the village just before Chuseok. Epidemiologists suspect the virus spread among 55 family members and neighbors who attended the party and further during the holiday. The local quarantine authorities ordered a lockdown of the village earlier this week.

Infection was confirmed in a woman in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, after she spent time with visiting family during the Chuseok holiday. One other relative also tested positive on Wednesday.

The virus spread is expected to continue this weekend as anti-government groups prepare for another round of protests at Gwanghwamun in Seoul on Friday, which is Hangeul Day.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday it was considering ordering subway operators to skip stations near the protest sites ― City Hall Station on lines 1 and 2, Gwanghwamun Station on Line 5 and Gyeongbokgung Station on Line 3.

"We're considering having subways skip these stations and shutting down all subway entrances," Seoul city official Park Yoo-mi said. The same measure was taken on Oct. 3.

The quarantine authorities also said they will announce a new set of COVID-19 restrictions on Sunday. The special Chuseok holiday social distancing rules will expire on the day.

Speaking to lawmakers, Health Minister Park Neung-hoo vowed to come up with new quarantine measures to minimize the economic impact on people.

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