S Korea rushes to contain new outbreak
SEOUL: South Korean officials scrambled yesterday to contain a new coronavirus outbreak, searching for thousands of people who may have been infected in a cluster of cases linked to nightclubs and bars in the densely populated capital city of Seoul.
The Asian country has been lauded for its quick action on the pandemic, significantly reducing the rate of new infections in recent weeks, but a resurgence in case numbers has raised concerns the country could be entering a second wave outbreak.
Officials reported 35 new infections across the country as of midnight on Sunday, the second consecutive day of new cases of that magnitude and the highest numbers in more than a month.
Twenty-nine of those new cases were linked to an outbreak at a number of Seoul nightclubs and bars, many of them catering to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community.
That has raised complications for officials desperately trying to track those who might be infected in a nation where open homosexuality is often taboo and LGBTQ people still face discrimination, including job loss and hate speech.
Authorities have tested more than 2,450 people who had patronised the night spots in the Itaewon neighbourhood but were still trying to track down around 3,000 more. Hundreds of other people who came in contact with clubgoers have also been tested.
“Our top priority is to minimise the spread of the infections in the greater Seoul area,” Prime Minister Chung Syekyun told a meeting with government officials yesterday, calling on local governments to work with police to track down patrons. “We should quickly find and test them, and speed is key.”
The outbreak has highlighted the potential unintended side effects of South Korea’s invasive tracing methods and wide public disclosure of some patient information as part of its approach to tackling the coronavirus.
Health Ministry official Yoon Tae-ho acknowledged concerns that individuals within the LGBTQ community could be outed against their will or face discrimination if they came forward.
“We release the movement of confirmed patients to encourage anyone who might be exposed get tested voluntarily,” he told a briefing. “We urge you to refrain from distributing patients’ personal information or groundless rumours, which not only hurts them but can also be subject to punishment.”
The Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said 86 people have tested positive in connection with the Itaewon outbreak, which was made public on Friday, including people who had travelled to the capital and subsequently returned home.
Seoul mayor Park Won-soon has pleaded with clubgoers to be tested, promising that their personal information would be protected and warning that people caught evading testing could be fined.