이태원 클럽감염 확산…코로나19 신규확진 35명•누적 1만909명
Let's start with the latest COVID-19 numbers in South Korea.
Most of the newly-confirmed cases are linked to a COVID-19 patient who earlier this month visited clubs and bars in Seoul's nightlife hotspot, Itaewon.
We have our Eum Ji-young on the line for us.
Ji-young, tell us how many new cases were confirmed today....
Yes Mark, South Korea confirmed 35 new cases on Monday as of 10AM, a couple of hours ago,... bringing the total number of confirmed patients in the country to 10-thousand-909.
Among the new cases, six are imported and 29 are due to community transmission in the country.
South Korea reported no new COVID-19 deaths, …meaning the death toll remains at two-hundred-56.
The total number of cases related to Itaewon stands at 85.
Itaewon's "patient-zero" is a 29-year-old man who lives in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do Province.
He was found to have been infected after he went five different clubs in Itaewon on May 2nd.
Health authorities are concerned people who could have been exposed to the virus from the clubs in Itaewon might not cooperate in epidemiological investigations as they could refrain from disclosing their whereabouts.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Monday that strict measures could be imposed if people who have visited clubs and bars in Itaewon do not cooperate in taking COVID-19 tests.
With health authorities on high alert over more potential cluster infections, officials are figuring out what to do regarding the start of the school year potentially delaying it again. Are discussions underway?
The minister of education and health officials were to discuss whether to postpone the start of the new school year again at a meeting scheduled at 11 AM on Monday but that meeting was canceled due to a scheduling conflict.
In a social media post on Monday, Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon requested the government to push back the start date by a week for students in their final year of high school. They had been due to go back to school this Wednesday, May 13th.
Meanwhile, according to the Seoul city, starting from Wednesday, people taking the subway when it is crowded are required to wear masks. People without a mask can buy dental masks at subway stations.
That's all I have for now but I'll bring more updates in a later newscast. Back to you Mark.
