Capital Region Risk Rising... "Daily Local Infections 30.6 → 40.3" (Update)

On the 14th, medical staff are working at the Walking Through screening clinic at Jungnang-gu Office in Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The number of locally transmitted COVID-19 cases in the Seoul metropolitan area surged from the 30s at the end of last month to the 40s in early this month.

Yoon Tae-ho, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters' quarantine team, stated at a regular briefing held at the Government Complex Sejong on the morning of the 15th, "The risk level in the metropolitan area has increased despite the strengthened quarantine measures implemented on the 29th of last month."

According to health authorities, the average daily number of community infections in the metropolitan area, excluding imported cases, was 36.5 over the two weeks from the 31st of last month to the 13th of this month. This is nearly double the previous two-week average of 20.4.

Yoon explained, "Analyzing on a weekly basis, the average was 30.6 from the 24th to the 30th of last month, rising to 40.3 from the 7th to the 13th of this month." Considering that the metropolitan area's community infections were only 10.1 from the 17th to the 23rd of last month, this represents nearly a fourfold increase.

The problem is that sporadic cluster infections continue in the metropolitan area. Yoon warned, "Infections are spreading particularly through daytime care centers and nursing facilities mainly used by the elderly," adding, "If the daily average confirmed cases in the metropolitan area remain between 30 and 50, it could place a burden on quarantine and medical resources."

Accordingly, the government plans to designate additional high-risk facilities and announce them after next week. Yoon stated, "We will issue more strengthened daily quarantine guidelines for the metropolitan area," and added, "Discussions are underway to impose gathering restrictions on additional high-risk facilities." He emphasized, "It is necessary to slow the spread of infections through the efforts of all citizens in daily quarantine and focused management of vulnerable facilities by health authorities."

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