At Least 120 New Confirmed Cases in the Capital Area Alone... "Concerns Over Rapid Spread"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] As new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases surge mainly in the Seoul metropolitan area including Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, concerns about a 'metropolitan area large-scale outbreak' are growing.

As of midnight on the 14th, 103 new COVID-19 cases were recorded, and since then, at least 120 new cases have been reported in Seoul and Gyeonggi, so the daily new cases announced on the 15th are expected to exceed 100 significantly.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, 58 new confirmed cases were recorded in Seoul during the 18 hours from midnight to 6 p.m. on the same day. This is the highest number of daily new confirmed cases in Seoul since the COVID-19 outbreak.

The new confirmed cases mainly occurred centered around churches. The largest number is 23 cases related to 'Uri Jeil Church' in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi Province. Next are 18 cases at 'Sarang Jeil Church' in Seongbuk-gu, and 1 case at 'Banseok Church' in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province.

Other infections include 1 case from a fast-food chain 'Lotteria' staff gathering, 2 cases from overseas contact, and 4 cases with unknown infection routes.

Meanwhile, according to Gyeonggi Province, 62 new confirmed cases occurred from midnight to 5 p.m. on the same day. This is also the highest record since the COVID-19 outbreak, similar to Seoul.

Specifically, 46 cases are related to Uri Jeil Church in Yongin-si, the largest number. Next are 5 cases at Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu, 1 case at Banseok Church in Goyang-si, 1 case at 'Gippeum153 Church' in Yongin-si, 1 overseas imported case, and 4 cases with unknown infection routes.

Currently, infections are continuously occurring during the investigation of people who had contact with confirmed cases at Uri Jeil Church.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) warned at the regular briefing on the same day that a large-scale group outbreak could occur in the metropolitan area after the three-day Liberation Day holiday starting on the 15th.

Jung Eun-kyung, head of the CDCH, emphasized, "The number of confirmed cases in Seoul and Gyeonggi is rapidly spreading to the extent that the number doubles in one day, and the proportion of cases with unidentified links has exceeded 13%. Since this is the largest scale of patients since the end of April, what efforts are made over the weekend is important."

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