Itaewon, Yongsan District, Seoul, South Korea.
The number of confirmed cases of new coronavirus pneumonia worldwide is still increasing, and by May 10, Beijing time, it had exceeded 4 million. Despite this, many countries around the world have begun to relax the prevention and control measures taken to deal with the new crown pneumonia epidemic. South Korea, which has gradually stabilized the epidemic, has ended its 45-day strict social distancing period. It officially entered the "living epidemic prevention stage" that parallel daily life and epidemic prevention work from May 6. Various facilities that were previously suspended due to the epidemic have been reopened in stages.
However, the recent cluster infection incidents related to the Itaewon nightclub in Seoul have caused the number of new cases in South Korea to surge again, and also cast a shadow on the people's desire to return to normal life.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said on May 13 that as of 10 a.m. that day, the collective infection of the Itaewon nightclub in Seoul had caused 119 confirmed cases, including those who visited the nightclub and their family, friends and other close contacts.
One-night night club tour triggered cluster infection
htmlOn April 30 and May 5 are the Buddha's birthday and Children's Day in South Korea respectively. A 29-year-old man living in Cheongdeok-dong, Chih-sung-gu, Yongin City, Gyeonggi-do started taking vacations on April 30 and was active outside for 5 days in the 6 days on May 5. html In the early morning of May 2, the man went to Itaewon, Yongsan District, Seoul, and went to three nightclubs and two bars in a row, without wearing a mask.Itaewon neighborhood is adjacent to the Yongsan base of the US military stationed in South Korea. It is inhabited by a large number of foreigners. It is called the "Wanguo City" of South Korea. It is surrounded by restaurants, nightclubs and bars. It is one of the main blocks for young Koreans to entertain at night.
According to the whereabouts of the man currently disclosed by the Korean media, he visited Kings Club, Trunk Club and Queens Club from 0:00 to 3:50 on the 2nd, and took a taxi home at 4:40.
html On the 12th, the man developed symptoms such as fever and diarrhea. He was examined on the 5th and was diagnosed with new coronary pneumonia at 7 a.m. on the 6th. He became the 66th patient in Longren City. His diagnosis made many people feel anxious.A nightclub that the man visited issued an announcement on social media on the 6th that the 66th patient in Longin City visited the store from 0:20 to 3:00 on the 2nd. "The health center contacted us and revealed the activity trajectory of the 66th patient in Itaewon. We learned that the nightclub that the patient visited on the 2nd included our store." The store said it has suspended business and has not yet decided on a reopening date.
According to the Korean epidemic prevention department, the five nightclubs and bars that the man visited received more than 2,000 guests that day. This has aroused concerns among nearby people about the second round of community infections.
But the worrying news came. According to the South Korean Disease Management Headquarters, on May 8, South Korea added 18 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, the highest number of new cases in a single day in three weeks. Among them, 15 of the 17 local community infection cases had intersections with the 66th patient in bars and nightclubs in Itaewon.
This collective infection incident also triggered a secondary infection. A 25-year-old man in a nightclub that night infected his 28-year-old sister; a nurse infected her mother; a 25-year-old teacher in a cram school in Incheon infected six students, a parent and a colleague; a Korean soldier infected other officers, which caused a senior officer in the South Korean "Cyber Operations Command" to be infected with the new coronavirus. Among the confirmed cases of
, there are three foreigners who went to the nightclub in Xincun twice on the 3rd and 4th. The area brings together many well-known Korean universities and is crowded with people.
Since April 19, South Korea has had less than 15 new cases per day, and the number of new cases per day has remained in single digits continuously from April 29 to May 7. However, last weekend (May 9 and 10), the number of new figures rebounded to 18 and 34 in a single day, and reached 35 on the 11th, most of which were related to the Itaewon nightclub incident.
As of 10:00 on May 13, the collective infection of Itaewon nightclub has caused 119 confirmed cases. According to Yonhap News Agency, 30 of them were secondary infections, but no three infections have been found yet.
Because nightclubs were crowded and closed at that time, and most customers did not wear masks, South Korea's Deputy Minister of Health King Kongli warned: "It is very likely that more patients will appear."
The South Korean government responded quickly and made every effort to investigate the
incident. Zheng Yinjing, director of the South Korean Central Epidemic Prevention Countermeasures Headquarters, immediately stated that the epidemic prevention department is conducting epidemiological investigations around the activity path of the 66th patient to further investigate people who have contact with him. The office building where the software company where the 66th patient worked was located was disinfected as soon as possible. More than 40 people working on the same floor were also required to be quarantined at home until May 13, All nucleic acid tests are required.
At the same time, the epidemic prevention department also reminded the public that people who have visited Itaewon nightclubs from the end of April to May 6 should not go out. They should be quarantined at home or consulted with local health centers to undergo virus testing.
Since this collective infection mainly occurs in young people, asymptomatic or mild symptoms are mostly the case, the epidemic is likely to spread in the community. Zheng Yinjing once again put forward a "hard" requirement on May 11: Anyone who has visited Itaewon entertainment facilities should be quickly inspected on the 11th and 12th. No The cooperator will face a fine of 2 million won (about 11,000 yuan).
South Korean Prime Minister Ding Se-jun also called on customers to consciously test, "If you hesitate for a day, our daily life may be suspended for a month."
According to Yonhap News Agency, from April 24 to May 6, there were 5,517 people who visited Itaewon-related nightclubs. Seoul City confirmed these people one by one, and completed the survey on 2,405 people by phone, and 3,112 people were still unable to contact. Because the nightclubs It is an entertainment venue, and many people are unwilling to disclose their identities, and some even use false information when registering in nightclubs.
htmlOn May 12, the South Korean government once again stepped up its efforts to find "missed people" and sent text messages to 1,130 people who did not answer the phone. For the remaining 1,982 missing people, the police tracked the credit card usage details, surveillance videos, and even the connection trajectory of communication base stations. In addition, a rapid response system has been established nationwide, and more than 8,000 police forces will be dispatched to track close contacts.Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said on the 12th that Seoul has tested 7,272 relevant personnel, and with the assistance of the police and communication companies, through investigation of mobile phone signals, it has obtained a list of 10,905 people who used the communication base stations in Itaewon during the corresponding period, and sent text messages to relevant personnel requiring the COVID-19 testing.
On the other hand, the South Korean Ministry of Defense stated on the 11th that as of the 10th, a total of 49 people in the South Korean military had actively reported going to entertainment facilities, restaurants and dense places in Itaewon. The South Korean military has cited these people All quarantine measures were taken and tested.
infected people were scattered across the country, and the anti-epidemic situation became tense again
From the perspective of regional distribution, 119 patients have been confirmed in the cluster infection incident in Itaewon nightclubs. Among them, 69 cases were Seoul, 23 cases in Gyeonggi Province, 15 cases in Incheon, 5 cases in North Chungcheong Province, 4 cases in Busan City, and 1 case in North Jeolla Province, Gyeongsang Province, and 1 case in Jeju Province.
media said that this is also a collective infection incident in South Korea ( After 98 people were confirmed), the second largest collective infection outbreak in Seoul. Therefore, South Korea is well aware of the importance of curbing the fermentation of things and dare not relax in epidemic prevention measures. Two days after the first confirmed case of
in Itaewon was discovered, on May 8, the South Korean government issued an administrative order, suggesting nightclubs and other entertainment venues to "restrain business". Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi-do, which belong to the capital circle, issued a second administrative order to entertainment venues in their jurisdiction, suggesting that they should not open business before June 7. Operators who violate the regulations will be subject to up to 300 10,000 won (approximately RMB 16,500) penalty.
html On May 11, the South Korean Ministry of Education announced that due to this incident, the resumption time of primary and secondary schools in South Korea, which were originally scheduled to start schools on the 13th, will be postponed to another week. html On the 112th, the "entertainment ban" was upgraded again. The South Korean Central Emergency Response Headquarters announced that as the cluster infection incident in Itaewon nightclubs continued to ferment, the governments of 12 cities and provinces (first-level administrative regions) across the country issued a "group gathering ban" on local entertainment facilities to strictly prevent similar incidents from happening again.According to Yonhap News Agency, Park Jong-hon (sound), the head of the publicity and management team of the South Korean Pan-government Countermeasures Support Headquarters, said at a regular press conference on the 12th that 17 local governments across the country inspected 20,084 public facilities and 6,623 entertainment venues with high risk of collective infection the day before. The epidemic prevention department is discussing expanding the scope of anonymous implementation of virus testing measures to the entire country.
It is understood that the gates of the bars involved in Itaewon District are closed, and all the entertainment venues along the street have been posted with "closed" notices, with few people flowing, and nearby convenience stores, restaurants, etc. have also been closed. The Seoul Municipal Government requires people to wear masks when taking the subway during peak hours starting from the 13th.
In one week, the cluster infection in Itaewon gradually fermented, causing South Korea's fight against the epidemic to fall into a tense state again.
Previously, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in his third anniversary speech that epidemic prevention is the foothold of the economy, and epidemic prevention alone cannot solve the livelihood problem. He will take the opportunity of "transferring to the stage of epidemic prevention in life" to boost economic vitality, but he should not be careless. "We must be prepared to fight a 'protracted war'."
