Category: Seoul

The number people infected by the Itaewon cluster infection has grown to 153 people and it appears has spread to noraebang locations around Seoul:

Some recent infections linked to nightspots in the Seoul neighborhood of Itaewon were found to have spread through karaoke facilities, highlighting the need for added caution at entertainment facilities.

A city official said Friday that health authorities have identified a link between recent infections at the university district of Hongdae, western Seoul, and cases linked to nightclubs and bars in Itaewon.

“We believe that the five cases confirmed (in relation) to bars in Mapo Ward are linked to cases that were confirmed after visits to Itaewon clubs,” Na Baeg-ju, the city’s civil health bureau director, said in a press briefing.

Na explained that one of the Hongdae-related patients had visited a “noraebang,” a karaoke facility, in the southwestern Seoul ward of Gwanak, just three minutes apart from an Itaewon clubber.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It appears that the ROK Army Staff Sergeant largely blamed for the current cluster infection in Seoul may not have been the only one spreading the coronavirus in Itaewon:

Aggressive testing and contact tracing are back in full swing in South Korea, as new chains of coronavirus infections continue to pop up sequentially after an outbreak linked to nightclubs and bars in Itaewon, central Seoul. 

Health authorities added four new clubs and bars — MADE, Pink Elephant, The Fountain and Pistil — to the list of locations where mass transmissions are believed to have occurred. That raises the number of establishments in Seoul’s popular nightlife spot under the scrutiny of quarantine officials to nine, with the previous five being King Club, Trunk Club, Club Queen, Soho and H.I.M. The mass transmissions are thought to have occurred April 24 through May 6. 

The scaled-up investigation comes as authorities say the nightclub cluster probably has multiple epicenters. Cases have been detected with no apparent correlation to the cluster’s first identified patient or anyone in that chain of contacts. 

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but I don’t see how bars and nightclubs are going to be able to reopen any time soon considering how wide this cluster infection has grown.

Like I said before when the Korea Times was insinuating that foreign English teachers were spreading COVID-19, that I was willing bet there was Korean teachers in these clubs as well. Sure enough there was and unlike the foreign teachers at least this educator was actually spreading the virus to his students:

Municipal authorities of Incheon, west of Seoul, said Wednesday they are planning to file a criminal complaint against a private academy instructor for lying about his occupation after his recent visit to a club in Seoul’s Itaewon district, which has resulted in a cluster of coronavirus infections involving himself and eight others, including his students.

The instructor, identified only as a 25-year-old man, tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday after visiting King Club, one of Itaewon’s entertainment spots that are emerging as a hotbed of the coronavirus, on the night of May 2.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It seems like these Korean style bars have the potential to be the next cluster infection site:

Clubs in the district of Gangnam were also shut down following the administrative order.

“We held an emergency meeting after Seoul city made the announcement, closed doors and put up signs informing our customers,” a club in Gangnam said. “We are worried since we do not know how long we have to keep the doors closed.”

Bars labeled as general restaurants in Gangnam, however, were still crowded with customers, raising concerns over further coronavirus infections.

Young customers formed long lines to get seats at indoor “pochas” — Korean-style bars — near Gangnam Station. Tables were placed closely together in clusters and the restaurant was filled with customers.

“We were supposed to go to a club, but it was closed so we came to this place,” said a man, who was at a pocha in Gangnam with his friends. “I heard a few people were confirmed with the virus in Itaewon, but I’m not worried since it was not in Gangnam.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It is pretty amazing how many people that one person infected with the coronavirus was able to spread through clubs in Itaewon:

 Coronavirus cases linked to clubs and bars in Seoul’s multicultural district of Itaewon have jumped to 54, an official said Sunday, as South Korea struggles to stop the cluster infection from spreading further.

The hike deepened fears that Itaewon-related infections could get out of control and lead to a nationwide transmission after the country had successfully brought the virus outbreak under control with zero local infections reported on many days in recent weeks.

The Itaewon infections began when a 29-year-old man tested positive on May 6 after visiting five clubs, including King Club, Trunk Club and Club Queen, between the night of May 1 and wee hours of May 2. More than 1,500 people were believed to have visited those clubs and bars on that night.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Any place with people packed into it is a risk to spread this virus, so the nightclubs and bars will likely be closed for a quite a while:

The Seoul city government on Saturday effectively suspended business at clubs and bars in the city after recent infections in the city’s popular multicultural neighborhood of Itaewon put health authorities on alert over a possibly bigger outbreak.

Under an administrative order that has gone into effect immediately, all clubs, bars, “room salons” and other nightlife establishments across the capital will be banned from hosting crowds of people, virtually suspending businesses at such venues.

“Such facilities have to suspend business immediately and will face strict punishment if they breach (the order),” Mayor Park Won-soon said in a press briefing, adding the order will remain in effect under further notice.

“Carelessness can lead to an explosion in infections — we clearly realized this through the group infections seen in the Itaewon club case,” Park said, urging businesses and the public to closely abide by quarantine measures.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is probably going to be a reoccurring reality with the opening of clubs, dealing with cluster infections:

Thirteen more cases of the novel coronavirus were confirmed Friday, associated with a patient who visited clubs and bars in Seoul’s popular multicultural neighborhood of Itaewon over the weekend.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said that 14 of the patient’s contacts, including three foreign nationals and one Army officer, have so far tested positive for COVID-19. All patients are aged between 19 and 37.

The 29-year-old patient, whom health authorities consider the first patient in the cluster infection, visited five clubs and bars in Itaewon from Friday night to the early hours of Saturday last week.

Twelve of the 13 new cases were those who had visited the Itaewon clubs, with the number feared to rise, considering that at least 1,510 people were estimated to have visited the five nightlife establishments including King Club, Trunk Club and Club Queen.

Yonhap News

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see how eager the people in Seoul are to rush back to these nightclubs and hostess bars:

Seoul health authorities warned clubs that reopened Monday after a 12-day operation ban to strictly abide by hygiene guidelines or face another shutdown order.All nightclubs, hostess and karaoke bars and other nighttime establishments in Seoul, called the “entertainment industry” in Korean, were forced to close on April 8 after a hostess in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, tested positive for the coronavirus.  

They were allowed to open on Monday, a day after the central government’s so-called high-intensity social distancing campaign wrapped up.  

The high-intensity campaign did formally end on Sunday, but central government officials said that didn’t mean social distancing was entirely over. Authorities outlined a new campaign that will last 16 days from Monday through Children’s Day on May 5, easing several guidelines in the campaign that ran for four weeks but fundamentally leaving hygiene recommendations intact. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Fortunately no one was hurt in this derailment:

A subway train derailed near Yeongdeungpo Station in southwestern Seoul on Tuesday, delaying and partially disrupting services on line No. 1.

No casualties have been reported. The accident took place around 6:28 a.m., halting traffic on both ways of the express lines for line No. 1, according to subway operators.

Regular trains on line No. 1 are in operation, but delays have been reported. 

Around 100 passengers who were on the derailed train walked to the nearby Singil Station, also on line No. 1, to transfer to a regular train.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.