Covid-19: S Korea working to break Itaewon-linked transmission chain
Seoul/UNI: South Korean health officials are striving hard to break the chain of transmission related to the cluster infections in Seoul's nightlife district of Itaewon as sporadic outbreaks are witnessed every now and then across the country.
The far eastern nation reported 16 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, this takes the total number of cases in the country since the start of the pandemic to 11,206, according to the data released by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). KCDC said that these 16 new infections include 13 local infections.
Itaewon emerged as a new hotspot for Corona virus infections after a 29-year-old man tested positive on May 6, following his visits to clubs and bars of the area.
Yonhap news agency quoted a senior health official Yoon Tae-ho stressing the need to break the chain of transmission before the outbreak develops into a community spread, Tae-ho emphasised the need for speeding up contact tracing activities.
Monday's latest reports confirm 237 cases to be linked to the Itaewon cluster, 112 of these were reported from Seoul, whereas 59 were reported from Gyeonggi Province.
The KCDC said that it is also closely monitoring cases reported from bible study groups in some of the cities.
The country witnessed one more COVID-19 fatality in the past day, raising the overall death toll to 267 whereas 10,226 people have recovered from the ailment till today.
As of now 713 patients are receiving treatment.
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