Instructor→Student→Family and Friends... Successive Itaewon-Originated 3rd Wave Infections (Comprehensive)

On the 14th, as the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) related to Itaewon clubs increases, medical staff are busy working at the screening clinic of Yongsan-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporters Heungsun Kim, Hyunju Lee] Third-generation infection cases related to confirmed COVID-19 patients linked to Itaewon clubs in Yongsan-gu, Seoul are continuously emerging in Incheon.

On the 14th, Incheon City announced that A (18), a high school senior residing in Michuhol-gu, tested positive for COVID-19 and was urgently transferred to Incheon Medical Center. Earlier, in Namdong-gu, B (18), who lives in Nonhyeon-dong within the district, and his mother (42) also tested positive for COVID-19 on the same day.

◆ Club visitor academy instructor → student → family and friends = A and B are friends from the same school and were identified to have visited a PC bang and karaoke room together in Michuhol-gu on the 6th. B recently attended classes at a private academy in Michuhol-gu where patient number 102 (25) from Incheon works.

Patient 102 visited Itaewon clubs and pojangmacha (outdoor drinking establishments) on the 2nd and 3rd and was confirmed positive on the 9th. Before receiving the positive test result, on the 6th and 7th, patient 102 conducted academy lectures and private tutoring. However, during the initial epidemiological investigation, patient 102 concealed the fact of being an academy instructor and falsely stated being unemployed, hindering contact tracing.

Health authorities and local governments are conducting epidemiological investigations into the infection routes and movements of additional confirmed cases. If following the sequence, B was infected by patient 102, then transmitted the virus to his mother and A, constituting a third-generation infection case. The day before, another private tutor (34, female) who tutored the twin siblings that received private lessons from patient 102 also tested positive. The government and health authorities suspect this tutor as another third-generation infection case.

As of 10 a.m. on the same day, the total number of confirmed cases related to patient 102 in Incheon rose to 14. Among them, nine are middle and high school students, raising alarms within the education authorities.

Confirmed COVID-19 cases related to Itaewon clubs worked at a private academy located in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, in the building where the academy is housed. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

◆ Strengthening quarantine measures at student multi-use facilities and language academies = On the same day, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Eun-Hye Yoo held an emergency meeting with Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and Seoul Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon, requesting cooperation to ensure prompt COVID-19 testing for academy instructors or staff identified as subjects for testing.

They also discussed administrative orders such as bans on gatherings at facilities frequently used by students, including karaoke rooms and PC bangs, as well as joint inspections and strengthened quarantine measures for language academies for young children and SAT academies.

The Ministry of Education is conducting a status survey targeting nationwide teachers, native-speaking instructors, and high school seniors who visited Itaewon from the 24th of last month to the 6th of this month. Academy instructors, directors, and staff are also included in the survey. It is known that dozens of teachers nationwide visited Itaewon during this period.

Yoon Tae-ho, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters' quarantine team, said at a briefing, "Regarding the Itaewon cluster infection, second and third-generation infections suspected mainly in Incheon have occurred, so it is necessary to closely monitor these situations for a few more days," adding, "Based on these circumstances, the Ministry of Education may decide on matters related to school reopening."

Meanwhile, as of midnight on the same day, 29 new domestic COVID-19 cases were confirmed, with 26 of them occurring in the community excluding imported cases. Most are related to Itaewon clubs and entertainment venues near Hongik University. The cumulative number of confirmed cases linked to Itaewon clubs rose to 133 as of noon.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.