<Source: Yonhap News>
As Coronavirus Disease-19(COVID-19) spreads in the Seoul metropolitan area, Gwangju, and Daejeon, the daily confirmed cases in these regions continue increasing. The cluster infections are spreading mainly through groups or facilities the confirmed cases visited.
As of noon of the 7th, 92 were cluster infections related to Gwangreuk Temple, located in the city of Gwangju, according to Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters on the 8th.
After the first case (index patient) was confirmed at Gwangreuk Temple on June 27, confirmed cases are rapidly increasing at a total of 8 facilities and groups including officetels (multi-purpose buildings), churches, nursing homes, travel meetings, and saunas.
The accumulated number of confirmed cases continuously increased starting from 12 on June 29th, 14→19→49→57→61→80→87→92, and is concerned to go over 100.
Other cluster infection cases are the same. 5 more cases were confirmed related to a congregation meeting in Suwon, Gyeonggi, resulting in a total of 25 confirmed cases.
Also, 2 confirmed cases were added each from cluster infections related to Wangsung Church in Gwanak-gu, Seoul and Jangam Jugong Apartment Complex 7 in the city of Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi-do, hitting the totals of 37 and 29 accumulated cases respectively.
Apart from cluster infections, the sizes of the sporadic infections are growing as well. After the first case was confirmed in an office in Gangnam-gu on July 1st, a total of 6 cases were confirmed including visitors and family members.
Such an increase is due to the rapid propagation of COVID-19.
Prevalent asymptomatic spread led multiple infection links to be present even without acknowledging a cluster infection occurring. Moreover, the recent domestic COVID-19 virus is the ‘GH group’ which spreads 6 times wider than the early ‘S group’ and ‘V group’ raising concerns for the further spread of the disease.
For this reason, infectious disease specialists warn a sudden increase in confirmed cases are highly probable as more cluster infections are occurring.
Um Joong-sik, Professor of Infection Internal Medicine, Gacheon University Gil Hospital said, “The spread of COIVD-19 depends on how quickly the accumulated confirmed cases increase,” and, “If sporadic infection cases continue to occur in different places, there could be an explosive increase in confirmed cases at the moment.”
