Source: People's Daily
People's Daily Beijing May 20 (Wu Sanye, Shin Yuhuan) When it comes to Korean Itaewon , Korean drama fans may think of the passionate youth inspirational drama "Itaewon class". Recently, Itaewon has been frequently mentioned in both China and South Korea, but it has nothing to do with idol dramas, but because of collective infections in nightclubs located in the area. The latest report from the South Korean epidemic prevention department shows that as of 12 noon local time on the 20th, there were 196 confirmed cases of collective infection in Itaewon nightclubs, of which 95 people have visited Itaewon nightclubs, and 101 people have been infected with contact. The longest infection chain has reached the fourth generation. More than 1,000 nightclub visitors are still missing, and the difficulty of prevention and control is beyond the Xintiandi Church incident.
Itaewon nightclub collective infection incident
5 May 6 Gyeonggi-do A 29-year-old man in Yongin City was diagnosed with COVID-19. He visited three nightclubs and two bars in Itaewon in the early morning of May 2. He did not wear a mask throughout the process and opened the "Pandora's Magic Box", causing chain infection. South Korea's epidemic prevention department then adopted large-scale testing and investigation work. The number of related cases confirmed from May 8 is double-digit. With the end of the incubation period, the number of related new cases decreased to single digits last weekend, and the spread trend gradually slowed down. However, two new cases on May 18 were the fourth-generation infected people who had no contact with confirmed cases in nightclubs, which caused new concerns. How does
N generation infection occur? According to Korean media reports, the first generation is a confirmed patient who visited Itaewon directly, and so far, there are 95 people. Experts said that the investigation of the first generation is coming to an end. The infection route of the two fourth-generation infected people who appeared on the 18th has been found: After the dance teacher, as the first-generation confirmed person, came into contact with the students, the students were infected, and the students passed the virus to their families. Later, the students' families infected their colleagues in the workplace, and this colleague is one of the fourth-generation infected people. Another fourth-generation infected person is the instructor of the detention center. The first generation of confirmed cases who were visited by Itaewon nightclub came into contact with the second generation of infected people who were infected and went to KTV, resulting in the emergence of the third generation of infected people. The third generation of infected people attended the wedding with a friend, and the friend, the detention center instructor, then became the fourth generation of infected people.
In addition to the long infection chain, there is another characteristic of the collective infection incident in Itaewon nightclubs, which is its wide spread range. In addition to the metropolitan areas such as Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, Incheon and other metropolitan areas, there are confirmed cases in North Jeolla Province, Busan , Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province, Gyeongsang South, Gangwon Do , and Jeju Island , all of which cover almost the entire territory of South Korea from north to south.
When the collective infection of Itaewon nightclub first occurred, many people were worried that this would become the second Daegu Xintiandi incident. At present, the epidemic prevention department believes that there will be no large-scale explosive infection, but some experts have a cautious view that compared with cluster infections such as Daegu Shincheon Di and Seoul Kowloon District Call Center, the infection situation of Itaewon nightclub incident is more complicated and the tracking and investigation work is more difficult, because some people have not tracked it down, and the actual number of infections should be more than the number of reported people. It is too early to draw a conclusion now.
Itaewon Street View under the epidemic (Photo source: Yonhap News Agency)
What is Itaewon? Why become the "storm center"?
Itaewon is a famous "city never sleeps" in Seoul and is one of the gathering places for foreigners and foreign cultures. According to the "Korean National Culture Encyclopedia" provided by the Institute of Korean Studies, "Itaewon" was also known as "Lee Taewon" and "Disen-fetal hospital" in history. The name of Itaewon comes from the name of the Inn (Station Area) in this place during the Korean period. The adjacent Yongsan and Xibingku are the main terminals for logistics circulation using the Han River waterway. Due to this geographical feature, this area serves as the main gateway to Hanyang (now known as Seoul), and plays an important role in transportation and military fortresses, so it is used as a foreign military garrison. During the Japanese colonial period, Ryuyama was a Japanese garrison base, and after the Korean War, it became a US garrison base. No matter which period, the garrison's family lived in Itaewon. Today, Itaewon is one of the main gathering areas for foreigners in South Korea, including the U.S. military and family.
As a gathering place for foreigners and foreign cultures, Itaewon has many exotic restaurants and entertainment facilities, and there are more than 20 nightclubs near Itaewon Metro Station alone. Not only that, there are also many universities in Itaewon area. Therefore, this is the first choice for many trendy people such as young people to enjoy the entertainment.
gathering of people has increased the risk of virus transmission, and the "episode" nightclubs of this cluster infection are even more of a high-risk place. Nightclubs are crowded with spaces, and most of them are still on underground or semi-underground floors. In addition, most of the people who go to nightclubs are young people. They may underestimate the risk of COVID-19 infection and believe that they have high self-immunity. Therefore, they will inevitably have great discounts in implementing epidemic prevention measures such as wearing masks and maintaining social distance. It is reported that the first confirmed case in this incident did not wear a mask throughout the whole process by traveling to multiple nightclubs.
htmlApril 30 and May 5 are the Buddha's Birthday and Children's Day in South Korea respectively. Therefore, many people choose to go out for a long time or go out for a trip during this golden time. In addition to Seoul's local residents, there are also many people coming to Seoul from all over the world for a trip. As a popular tourist destination in Seoul, Itaewon has naturally become one of the must-visit places for many people, especially young people. Those who came from outside Seoul returned to their respective locations after the holidays, providing vectors for the spread of the virus to the local area.It can be seen from this that the special status of Itaewon, the spatial environment of nightclubs, the holidays, the extensive mobile high traffic personnel, and neglecting epidemic prevention have created a breeding ground for the spread of the new coronavirus, making Itaewon a "storm center" for the collective infection.
is temporarily controllable, but the variables are still there. The difficulty of prevention and control is more difficult than that of Xintiandi Church
After the first patient in Itaewon nightclub was diagnosed, the South Korean epidemic prevention department took timely investigation measures. The South Korean government also required relevant nightclubs, and even suggested that nightclubs across the country be closed for one month. At present, the increase in related cases has slowed down, and the epidemic prevention department has announced that the infection situation is temporarily controllable, but the concerns between experts and the public have not decreased, and there are still many variables. Some experts believe that the prevention and control of this incident is more difficult than that of the Xintiandi Church incident.
◇The 1779 missing nightclub visitors are the biggest variable. There may be "hidden" spreaders
The current nightclub infection incident has passed the 14-day incubation period. The South Korean government has also conducted nucleic acid tests on the nightclub visitors and contacts he tracked. The new confirmed cases did not show a major outbreak that is worried about by all walks of life. But the fact that nightclub visitor tracking has not yet been completed has become the biggest variable, which is still worrying.
Data released by the South Korean police station on the 18th showed that 5,041 people who visited Itaewon nightclub during the Golden Week holiday in South Korea have tracked 3,262 people, and 1,779 visitors are still missing. This means that more than one out of every three visitors has not been included in the prevention and control network. Most of the people who visited the nightclub left false names and contact information, which made the police's tracking work very difficult.
Even if the South Korean epidemic prevention department decides to carry out anonymous testing of visitors to Itaewon nightclubs, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon html warned people who have been to Itaewon nightclubs but have not been tested on the 314th that they will be fined 2 million won (about 12,000 yuan). South Korean Prime Minister Ding Se-jun said that if visitors to Itaewon nightclubs deliberately conceal their identity or do not accept the inspection, the government will take tough measures, and more than one-third of the people have not yet been tested.
In this regard, relevant people predict that the actual number of infections may be more than those reported, because most of the people going to nightclubs are young people, and judging from the cases so far, the symptoms of young patients are relatively weak or asymptomatic. Therefore, there may be "hidden" communicators.
◇The number of confirmed cases of N generation infection chains continues to increase, causing concerns
In this incident, a cram school teacher in Incheon went to Itaewon nightclub on May 2 and 3 and was infected, causing multiple students to be diagnosed. During the initial investigation, the teacher lied that he was unemployed and concealed his itinerary, which caused the epidemic prevention department to fail to track and investigate the relevant personnel in a timely manner, which led to some infected people attending party activities without knowing it, resulting in an increase in the number of contacts. According to Korean media reports, as of 10:00 a.m. on the 19th, the teacher's related cases had reached 22 and had been infected to the fourth generation.
In addition, a foreign infected person who was diagnosed on the 17th, Fuchuan City, a confirmed foreigner who was , Fuchuan City, had been to a local nightclub on the 10th. The local epidemic prevention department is conducting a follow-up investigation by relevant personnel. It is worrying whether it will cause new collective infections.
In addition to this, among the current cases of N generation infection, coin-operated KTV has become a media of communication.
Based on the current situation, compared with the collective infection incident of the Shincheon Church, the Itaewon nightclub infection incident is a greater test for the South Korean epidemic prevention system. Although there were some twists and turns in the Xintiandi Church incident, the epidemic prevention department finally grasped the list of believers, concentrated inspections of relevant personnel, and kept up with the investigation, prevention and control. However, the collective infection of Itaewon nightclub involves complex personnel, including special groups such as foreigners, the army, minority groups, as well as key prevention and control groups such as teachers, students, taxi drivers, etc. Due to difficulties in tracking, there are still nightclub visitors who have not been tested. The fourth generation of infected people has appeared in just over 10 days. South Korea has entered the stage of daily epidemic prevention, and "maintaining social distance" is not mandatory, so the concerns of all parties are not unreasonable.
Thankfully, South Korea has a relatively complete epidemic prevention system. The epidemic prevention department has always adhered to a responsible attitude when publishing relevant information. The scientific epidemic prevention concept is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Most Korean people actively cooperate with the government's epidemic prevention measures. These have provided favorable support for South Korea to overcome the difficulties caused by this incident. According to reports, King Kong Li, the first coordinator of the South Korean Central Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said at a press conference on the 20th that he still cannot relax his vigilance. On the same day, Jung Kyung-eun, director of the South Korean Central Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters, emphasized that the government is tracking and checking contacts through active epidemiological investigations, but the second and third generation infections continue to occur, and she expects it will take at least one week to judge the future development situation.
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Photo Source: Yonhap News Agency
