서울 코로나 상황 계속 악화...10일 신규 확진자 수도권 집중
South Korea has reported 50 new cases of COVID-19... most of them in the densely populated Greater Seoul area.
Since late May, the country has been reporting around 30 to 50 new cases per day, a resurgence that has threatened to erase some of the hard-won gains against the virus.
The KCDC is sounding alarm, particularly because one in four newly confirmed cases in the last week have been aged 65 and above.
Yoon Jung-min leads our coverage tonight.
South Korea is seeing a spike in new COVID-19 cases centered around the capital Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi-do Province.
On Wednesday, the country reported 50 new cases.
Of the new cases, 12 were in Seoul, 21 in Gyeonggi-do Province and eight in Incheon.
The total cases now stand at 11-thousand-902,... while there were two more fatalities, bringing the total to 276.
"New local transmissions in the capital area are reaching 30 to 50 every day. In particular, there are sporadic chain infections at vulnerable places and small gatherings. We're currently checking whether they are following quarantine rules."
During the past week, the situation in Seoul has gotten worse due to a number of cluster infections at a local door-to-door sales company, sports facilities and churches.
The daily average of new infections in Seoul has been around 20 since last Sunday,... and the number of patients under quarantine in the capital was 359 as of Wednesday morning.
The city had already experienced a spike in number of people under quarantine during March and April,... mostly due to imported cases.
The numbers have begun climbing up again from late May,... this time mostly because of community transmissions.
"It's best not to go to those places right now to stop the chain infection. If you go to churches or other public places, wearing a mask is a must. Also, keeping at least a one-meter distance can lower the risk of infection by 85 percent."
The authorities say there are concerns about an increasing number of infections among the elderly,... with more than four out of 10 patients found to be elderly people.
"As of late, the number of patients above 65 years-old has sharply jumped to 26-point-6 percent, and there's an increasing proportion of the elderly in the cluster infections."
Health authorities are also closely monitoring some cases of which the source of infection has been difficult to track down.
Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News.
