(4th LD) New virus cases below 40 for 2nd day, spread in greater Seoul still uncontrolled

All News 22:32 June 15, 2020

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 12, 16, 20)

SEOUL, June 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's new virus cases stayed below 40 for the second straight day Monday, but cluster infections and untraceable cases continued to haunt the Seoul metropolitan area.

The country added 37 new cases, including 24 local infections, raising the total caseload to 12,121, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

The tally marked a slight rise from the 34 additional cases reported Sunday but a sharp decrease from 49 on Saturday.

All but two of the locally transmitted cases were reported in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province that surrounds the capital, home to half of the country's 50 million population.

The average daily number of locally transmitted infections in the greater Seoul area reached 36.5 over the past two weeks, nearly doubling from the previous 14-day period.

Cluster infections accounted for 71 percent of the newly added patients over the past two weeks, according to the KCDC.

Commuters wearing masks wait for buses in central Seoul on June 15, 2020. (Yonhap)

Health authorities have been staying vigilant over chains of group infections in the metropolitan area, which accounted for around 90 percent of the locally transmitted infections this month.

While the country went ahead with the eased social-distancing scheme in early May on the back of flattened virus cases, a series of multiple, sporadic cluster infections in the densely populated Seoul area emerged as a stumbling block in the country's virus fight.

The virus spike in the metropolitan area forced health authorities to impose a two-week tougher infection preventive measures in the region in late May until Sunday.

But the country opted last week to indefinitely extend the deadline, until the number of new cases falls back to a single digit.

A door-to-door business establishment in southern Seoul has emerged as a new hotbed for community spread. As of Monday, cases traced to the retailer reached 169, up five from the previous day.

Those linked to small churches in the metropolitan area came to 110, up three cases over the past 24 hours, with four family members of a pastor in the capital city testing positive.

Virus cases connected to a day care center for seniors in northeastern Seoul rose by two to 19.

Another logistics center in southeastern Seoul, operated by an affiliate of retail giant Lotte Group, reported a new COVID-19 case over the weekend.

The center employs more workers than another warehouse owned by e-commerce giant Coupang in the west of Seoul, which has reported nearly 150 cases.

Seoul's municipal government reported some 1,032 infections. The government has been ramping up efforts to contain the virus.

Shown in the photo taken June 15, 2020, is a logistics center in southeastern Seoul operated by an affiliate of retail giant Lotte Group, which reported a new coronavirus case over the weekend. (Yonhap)

Health authorities also said the country has been experiencing an increase in the number of cases whose infection routes are unknown.

Out of all COVID-19 cases, those with unknown origins reached 10.2 percent over the past two weeks, rising from 7.4 percent posted for the previous two-week period, the KCDC data showed.

The portion of asymptomatic, "silent" virus spreaders are estimated to reach up to 50 percent according to some studies, the KCDC added.

The country officially reported no additional virus-related deaths, keeping the total death toll at 277. One more fatality was reported later in the day and will be reflected in Tuesday's tally. The deceased was 80 years of age and died in Incheon.

The fatality rate reached 2.29 percent, with that of those aged 80 and above reaching 25.56 percent.

The total number of people released from quarantine after full recoveries stood at 10,730, up 12 from the previous day.

The number of imported cases reached 1,346, up 13 from a day earlier. Of the newly added infections, seven were found at airport screening checkpoints.

It marked the second time this month that the number of imported cases has been above 10.

So far, 85 percent of COVID-19 patients from imported cases were South Korean nationals.

Health authorities said they will make efforts to increase the accuracy of its COVID-19 tests as well, after one of the cases earlier was later confirmed to be negative.

South Korea has been carrying out 1,105,719 tests since Jan 3.

"While South Korea has been focusing on beefing up its testing capabilities, the country will make efforts to improve the accuracy down the road as well," KCDC Director Jeong Eun-kyeong said during a daily briefing.