Daegu City on 'High Alert' for 2nd Wave of COVID-19... 6 New Cases from Seoul Metropolitan Area

As of 10 AM on the 16th-18th, 11 New Cases Confirmed Over Three Days
Daegu City "Self-Quarantine for Visitors from the Capital Area... Claims for Compensation if Violated"

On the afternoon of the 17th, when the daytime high temperature exceeded 35 degrees Celsius in most areas of Daegu and Gyeongbuk, heat was rising on Dalgubeol-daero in Suseong-gu, Daegu.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Dong-wook] In the Daegu area, where no new cases of COVID-19 had been reported for 43 days until the 15th, 11 new infections were confirmed over three days from the 16th to the 18th, raising concerns about a second large-scale outbreak.

In particular, as most of the new confirmed cases were found to have been infected by visitors to churches in the Seoul metropolitan area, the Daegu city government has entered an emergency response system by announcing 'self-quarantine administrative measures' for visitors to metropolitan area churches and attendees of the Gwanghwamun rally.

According to Daegu city as of midnight on the 18th, there were 7 new confirmed cases, including one imported case. A man in his 70s, the husband of a woman in her 60s who was confirmed positive due to the nth infection at Uri Jeil Church in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, was diagnosed as positive. It was confirmed that the woman in her 60s, who was confirmed the day before, did not attend Uri Jeil Church.

Also, a man in his 30s (Buk-gu) and a woman in her 50s (Buk-gu), who met a confirmed case from Dongjak-gu, Seoul on the 14th when he visited Daegu, were confirmed positive. Additionally, two people in their 60s (Suseong-gu) who had contact at cafes and restaurants visited by him were found to be infected with COVID-19.

A man in his 70s (Dalseo-gu), who showed symptoms after visiting the Gyeonggi Province area on the 10th, was also confirmed positive after testing. This man visited Yeungnam University Hospital on the 17th due to fever symptoms starting on the 16th and was finally confirmed positive.

Accordingly, as of 10 a.m. on the 18th, the cumulative number of confirmed cases in Daegu increased by 7 (including 1 imported case) from the previous day, totaling 6,957 according to the city’s own tally.

Regarding these signs of a second large-scale outbreak, Daegu city stated in a separate press release on the same day, "The coming week is a critical period to block community transmission of COVID-19 originating from the metropolitan area," and announced the implementation of high-intensity measures such as self-quarantine for visitors to the metropolitan area. The self-quarantine targets include visitors to Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul from the 7th to the 13th, visitors to Uri Jeil Church in Yongin from the 1st to the 12th, and attendees of the Gwanghwamun rally on the 15th.

A Daegu city official related to this matter said, "To facilitate testing, anonymity will be guaranteed for visitors to the metropolitan area, and Daegu city will cover the cost of diagnostic tests so that they can be tested free of charge," adding, "If this is not complied with and community transmission occurs, strong legal measures such as claims for compensation will be taken."

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