It's Vacation Season, but with the Delta Variant... "Concerns Over COVID Spread in Non-Capital Regions Too"

Confirmed Cases Exceed 700 for 7 Consecutive Days
Cluster Infection from Native Speaker Instructors Spreads to Busan and Daejeon

Cumulative Delta Variant Infections Reach 416
60% Surge in Six Days

Concerns are growing that the COVID-19 outbreak, currently centered in the Seoul metropolitan area, could spread to non-metropolitan regions during the summer vacation season. In particular, recent cases of young people from the metropolitan area traveling to non-metropolitan areas where social distancing measures have been relaxed and spreading infections are raising anxiety.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

◇ "Vacation season is risky" - Emergency in quarantine measures = The situation of more than 700 confirmed cases per day has continued for seven consecutive days. According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight on the 6th, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Korea increased by 746, reaching a cumulative total of 161,541. Of these, 690 were locally transmitted cases, and 56 were imported. Among the locally transmitted cases, the proportion in the metropolitan area remains overwhelming at 81%. On that day, Seoul accounted for nearly half of the total confirmed cases with 313, and Gyeonggi Province accounted for 224 cases, or 32.5%.

Looking at the weekly average daily cases, the metropolitan area recorded mid-300s until the fourth week of June but surged to 531.3 last week. During the same period, non-metropolitan areas slightly decreased from 128.2 to 123.7. However, signs of spread have been detected in some regions such as Chungcheong (39.7→43.7) and Honam (12.3→16). Additionally, a cluster infection originating from a native English instructor in the metropolitan area spread to a pub in Busan. A person who visited a restaurant in Hongdae also visited a pub in Busan, creating a chain of infection. Among the visitors to the Busan pub that day was a person from Daejeon, expanding related infections to the central region.

Non-metropolitan areas are currently more vulnerable to outbreaks as they have introduced a new social distancing system, applying Level 1 in most regions except Chuncheon. Kim Taeyeon (pseudonym), a 30-year-old office worker, said, "I plan to go down to Busan on the weekend, which is safer than the metropolitan area and has relaxed business restrictions, to meet friends. If I am careful, Busan seems safer than Seoul."

Kwon Deok-cheol, the 1st Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of Health and Welfare), said in his opening remarks at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting that day, "To prevent the spread of infection in the metropolitan area, we will conduct special quarantine inspections on high-risk facilities," and added, "While warnings were previously issued for first violations according to enforcement rules, from now on, business suspension will be enforced immediately without warning."

◇ Weekly doubling of Delta variant cases = The onslaught of the India-origin Delta variant virus is fierce. As of the 4th, 416 Delta variant cases have been confirmed domestically. This represents nearly a 60% increase in just six days from 263 cases on the 28th of last month. Currently, less than 20% of confirmed COVID-19 cases undergo variant testing, and considering that hundreds of confirmed cases have epidemiological links to patients infected with the Delta variant, the actual scale of infection is expected to be much larger. In June, the proportion of Delta variant infections among all confirmed cases was 4.5%. Authorities estimate that about 7 out of every 100 new confirmed cases are infected with the Delta variant. The number of domestic Delta variant patients increased from about 30 two weeks ago to about 70 one week ago, and this week increased by 150, doubling the growth rate weekly.

Deputy Head Kwon expressed concern, saying, "The Delta variant is known to be more than twice as infectious as the existing virus. Due to its high infectivity, the number of Delta variant patients increased by about 30 two weeks ago, about 70 one week ago, and 150 this week, with the growth rate doubling every week."

Unlike the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus, vaccination has a gap period continuing until the end of this month. Large-scale vaccinations have been temporarily suspended ahead of the full-scale third-quarter vaccination plan. As a result, the first-dose vaccination rate has remained around 29.9% for several days, while the second-dose vaccination rate is gradually increasing. The government is making all-out efforts to expedite vaccine procurement. It is negotiating a vaccine swap with the Israeli government. According to foreign media, Israel has agreed to provide about 700,000 doses of leftover Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines to South Korea. The contract was signed the previous night, and vaccine delivery is expected to begin within a few days and be completed by the end of this month. Israel is reported to receive the same amount of Pfizer vaccines back after September.

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