South Korean officials are scrambling to contain a new outbreak of coronavirus after a cluster of more than 100 cases was linked one man who visited several nightclubs in Seoul.
Bars and discos across South Korea’s capital have now been closed, after the sudden outbreak raised fears of a second wave of COVID-19 in a city that has been seen as a model for how to contain the disease.
Mayor Park Won-soon announced on Tuesday that 101 people had tested positive for coronavirus since the latest outbreak was identified last week, with most of the first batch of those linked to one 29-year-old man.
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More than 10,000 people have been tested in relation to the new outbreak
The man visited three nightclubs in Seoul’s Itaewon district last Saturday, as locals flooded back to the nighttime economy thanks to the government’s decision to relax some social distancing rules.
The man, who did not wear a mask inside the clubs, tested positive for the illness three days later.
Mayor Park said officials were now racing to trace everyone who may have been exposed, but revealed that there had already been several cases of secondary infection.
He added: “More than 36% of cases are asymptomatic and the rate of spread is very high.”
Some 7,272 people have already been tested in relation to the nightclub cluster, after a public information campaign urged those who visited the affected venues between 29 April and 6 May to get tested and stay indoors.
The 29-year-old man reportedly visited three premises – King Club, Trunk Club and Club Queen – and visitor lists indicated they had more than 1,500 customers combined on the night he was out.
According to phone signal tower records, an estimated 10,905 people were in the vicinity of the clubs at the time, prompting the city to send text messages to all the numbers identified to ask them to be tested.
Now all nightclubs, bars, discos and other such venues across Seoul have been told to close for a month, with checks being carried out to ensure they are complying.
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Virus testing stations have been set up at affected nightclubs
Those who have been contacted have been reassured that their personal information is safe, with some fearful of discrimination due to some of the affected clubs being linked to Seoul’s LGBTQ community.
Homosexuality is often taboo in South Korea and LGBTQ people face discrimination, including hate speech.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun has acknowledged the concerns, telling officials: “We release the movement of confirmed patients to encourage anyone who might be exposed get tested voluntarily.
“We urge people to refrain from distributing patients’ personal information or groundless rumours, which not only hurts them but can also be subject to punishment.”
He added: “Our top priority is to minimise the spread of the infections.
“We should quickly find and test them, and speed is key.”
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The outbreak was first linked to a man who visited three of Seoul’s nightclubs
Privacy concerns aside, South Korea has been heralded for its mass testing, tracking and tracing campaign since coronavirus first emerged in the country back in January.
At one point it had the most confirmed cases and deaths outside China following an outbreak linked to a church gathering in the city of Daegu, but it quickly got the pandemic under control.
There have been 10,936 confirmed cases in South Korea and a relatively low death count of 236, even though the country has never gone into the sort of lockdown seen in several countries in Europe.
Parliamentary elections even went ahead as planned last month.
But the World Health Organisation has warned countries that have been successful in containing the disease not to become complacent, with those that have eased restrictions having seen an uptick.
Infections have been on the rise again in Germany, after Chancellor Angela Merkel bowed to pressure from state leaders to restart social life and revive the economy last week.
Like South Korea, Germany has been praised for its testing efforts and has a death toll of 7,661 – far lower than in countries like France, Spain, Italy and the UK.
Efforts to restore relative normality there have included more shop openings, a gradual return to school, and the upcoming resumption of Bundesliga football this weekend.
