Authorities: "3 More Family Gathering Infections During Seollal Holiday... More May Be Discovered" (Update)

22 Confirmed Cases from Family Gatherings in Gwangju, Gyeongbuk, and Busan

On the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, the 11th, citizens are getting tested at the temporary COVID-19 screening site set up at Seoul Station Plaza. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced that as of midnight that day, 504 new domestic COVID-19 cases were confirmed, bringing the total to 82,434. Photo by Moohonam Reporter munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The number of COVID-19 cluster cases related to family gatherings during the Lunar New Year holiday has increased to five. The health authorities stated that considering the incubation period after the holiday, there is a possibility of additional cases being discovered in the future.

On the 18th, Kwon Jun-wook, the 2nd Deputy Director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH), said at the regular COVID-19 briefing, "Regarding family gatherings during the Lunar New Year holiday, three cluster cases have been confirmed: 9 people in a family gathering in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju; 7 people in a family gathering in Bonghwa-gun, Gyeongbuk; and 6 people in a family gathering in Yeongdo-gu, Busan," adding, "Overall, the types of cluster cases are becoming more diverse and increasing."

Previously, within the cluster outbreak related to an insurance company at a funeral hall in Busan, transmission through two separate family gatherings was confirmed. With the addition of these three cases, the total number of cluster cases related to family gatherings during the Lunar New Year holiday has reached five.

During last year's Chuseok holiday, there were 11 such infection cases. However, the authorities judge that the current COVID-19 situation cannot be considered safe since the number of confirmed cases now is higher than at that time.

Deputy Director Kwon explained, "Considering the incubation period, there is a possibility of more cases being discovered in the future. At the start of last year's Chuseok, COVID-19 cases were in double digits, but at the beginning of this year's Lunar New Year holiday, the number was in the triple digits, around 200 to 300. Given various circumstances, it is quite likely that more cases will be identified."

Additionally, the authorities commented on the recent large-scale cluster infection at a plastic factory in Namyangju City, stating, "There were likely shortcomings in management." Kwak Jin, head of the patient management team at the CDCH, said, "The basic environment involves many workers living in dormitories and sharing common areas such as cafeterias and restrooms, where environmental management was likely insufficient."

He continued, "The index patient's symptom onset was confirmed on the 11th of this month, but there are over 100 patients in total, and some have symptom onset dates earlier than the index patient. This suggests that COVID-19 infections existed within the group before the index patient, and there may have been issues in detecting these cases earlier," he added.

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