Over 20% of 'Kkamkkami Patients' in Seoul Last Week... 7.6-Fold Surge

[Asia Economy Reporter Seol Gina Jo] The number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) with unknown infection routes in Seoul has surged more than sevenfold in just one week. More than 20% of confirmed cases last week were identified as such 'unknown transmission patients.'

According to Seoul City on the 25th, among the confirmed cases in the third week of August (16?22), there were 191 cases with unclear infection routes, accounting for 21.2% of the total confirmed cases (902) during this period. The number of unknown transmission patients in Seoul had been around 10 cases weekly since the first week of June (May 31?June 6), then increased to 25 cases in the second week of August (9?15), and surged by an astonishing 7.6 times in the third week.

This is analyzed to have been triggered by cluster infections at Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, and the Gwanghwamun rally on Liberation Day. Since the first confirmed case at Sarang Jeil Church on the 12th, new infection clusters have been classified not only in religious facilities such as ▲ Andiok Church in Gongneung-dong, Nowon-gu (22 cumulative cases in Seoul) ▲ Yoido Full Gospel Church (24 cases), but also ▲ FA Physical Education College Entrance Academy (30 cases) ▲ Theater group 'San' (26 cases) ▲ Dunchon Daycare Center in Gangdong-gu (15 cases).

As the number of new confirmed cases rapidly increased due to cluster infections, cases where epidemiological links could not be clearly identified through investigations also rose. The quarantine authorities report that with 'n-th transmission' occurring in all directions, there are quite a few cases where tracing the infection route is no longer possible.

Especially, the proportion of unknown transmission patients was higher among the elderly. This is analyzed as a consequence of relatively greater difficulties in epidemiological investigations based on confirmed patients' statements and credit card usage history. In Seoul, the proportion of 'unknown transmission patients' by age group was highest among those aged 80 and above at 23.3%, followed by those in their 70s (18.1%) and 60s (15.8%). In contrast, teenagers (6.5%) and people in their 20s (7.4%) accounted for only about half the rate of the elderly.

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