South Korea reports 29 new COVID-19 cases

Yonhap via The Korea Herald/Asia News Network

SEOUL — South Korea reported 29 additional cases of the new coronavirus Thursday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 10,991.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said among the cases confirmed the previous day, 12 were from Incheon, six from Gyeonggi Province and four from Seoul. North Chungcheong Province reported three new cases.

Nearly 90 percent of the newly diagnosed patients, or 26 people, were found to have domestically transmitted infections in the aftermath of a fresh outbreak at clubs and bars in Seoul’s Itaewon area. Three were imported cases.

Health authorities also reported one more fatality, bringing the death toll to 260.

The national recovery figure jumped to 9,762 with the release of 67 more patients.

The total number of infections traced to the popular nightlife area of Itaewon stood at 131 as health authorities made concerted efforts to carry out testing and contact tracing to prevent the virus from spreading further.

On Thursday, Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip reiterated his call for people who visited clubs in Itaewon to dial 1339 for the KCDC call center or visit nearby community health centers to get tested.

“The health authorities have expanded anonymous testing nationwide and plan to update the guidelines to prevent the excessive exposure of information about personal movements in a bid to avert unnecessary privacy violations,” he said.

He also urged those who work at educational or religious sites or at indoor sports facilities to get tested, as they are at a high risk of spreading the virus.