Police in race to trace Seoul club-goers

VIRUS SPREADS

Thousands of South Korean police officers have been deployed to help trace people linked to a coronavirus cluster that began in the bars and nightclubs of Seoul, before it spreads out of control across the country.

Cases connected to five nightspots in the capital’s Itaewon district reached 119 Wednesday as secondary infections sprouted in other cities — including a one-year-old child, infected by his uncle, 320 kilometres away in Busan — leading to fears of a wider outbreak.

The sudden surge in cases threatens to blemish South Korea’s much praised record in fighting the virus. Yesterday, the authorities raised their concerns about the “silent transmission” of the highly infectious disease among the affected group of people, who are largely in their 20s and 30s.

The search for possible cases has also been hampered by fears over homophobia and discrimination as several of the venues are frequented by members of the LGBT community. Homosexuality is often treated as a taboo subject in South Korea’s conservative society.

Seoul Mayor Park Wonsoon has repeated his appeal for people to come forward to be tested, and health officials have sought to reassure potential carriers that their privacy will be protected. However, the authorities have also warned that anyone seeking to deliberately conceal information could face penalties. On Wednesday, authorities in Incheon, a port city west of Seoul, said they planned to file a criminal complaint against a tutor at a private academy for lying about his occupation after visiting one of the clubs in the capital.

The failure of the 25-yearold man — who is also a university student — to disclose his teaching activities resulted in the infection of 11 other people, including some of his high-school students and their relatives, sparking a wave of public anger.