(3rd LD) S. Korea back on alert over community transmission, 1 more virus case brings total to 30

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 4-6, 9-10; ADDS top photo)

SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Monday identified another case of the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections to 30, with the latest two cases prodding the health authorities to actively take steps to prevent community transmission.

According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the country's latest patient is the 68-year-old wife of the 29th infected person who tested positive for the virus Sunday.

The 82-year-old man is not known to have made contact with the country's other virus-confirmed patients or recently traveled abroad. He had volunteered to transport lunch boxes to elderly people living alone and to senior centers through a regional welfare organization and was only diagnosed with the illness when he visited a hospital after visiting two clinics and a hospital.

"In light of the highly contagious nature of the virus, even when an infected person shows almost no symptoms, authorities must maintain the highest level of vigilance and take proactive measures," Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said in a press conference.

Kim said that every movement of the couple needs to be scrutinized before determining if they were infected through unknown routes.

The local health agency said it is now the time to stem additional community transmission.

In a related move, the country is considering testing those who suffer from pneumonia due to unknown causes for the potential COVID-19 virus at the discretion of medical personnel.

South Korea also said it plans to greatly increase the number of COVID-19 tests it can conduct on a daily basis from the current 5,000 to 10,000 by the end of the month so as to better identify and isolate infected people.

As part of its ongoing efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it has called on all 1,470 convalescent hospitals and similar institutions in the country to bar all workers who have traveled to Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the current outbreak, from working and to screen all caregivers who look after patients for travel abroad and symptoms so they do not inadvertently infect people who are in poor health.

"Everyone who has traveled to infected areas must be placed in self-quarantine for 14 days," Seoul's health ministry said. All convalescent homes will moreover be required to check people for any signs of fever, it added.

The country said earlier it will take extra steps to keep close tabs on Chinese students who are enrolled in South Korean schools, with all local educational institutions to take charge of such people and report any signs of illness.

It said that South Korean nationals who are currently on a cruise ship in Japan and allowed to return home after being screened by Japanese authorities will still be required to remain in mandatory quarantine for two weeks after arrival as a precautionary move.

The number of people being checked for the virus and under quarantine came to 408 as of early Monday. South Korea has screened 8,171 people for COVID-19 since Jan. 3, with 7,733 testing negative and nine people having been discharged from quarantine after making full recoveries.

yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)