WHO reports largest single-day increase in cases
In South Korea, 201 coronavirus cases have now been linked to a nightclub cluster in the capital Seoul, health officials said today.
The cluster, which was identified on May 9, has been traced to the entertainment district of Itaewon.
After cases began emerging, authorities used credit card records, cell phone data, and other methods to identify people who had visited the affected area. Tens of thousands of people have now been tested in relation to the cluster.
The cluster is sparking other closures. A patient linked to the cluster used a coin-operated karaoke room in the city of Incheon. Two high school students then used that room, contracted the virus and passed it onto their families, said health official Yoon Tae-ho.
Incheon is now closing all such coin-operated karaoke rooms.
A total of 66 Incheon high schools closed yesterday, and will conduct classes online while authorities carry out epidemiological studies.
Meanwhile, in the southern city of Daegu, a high school sent all students home and closed after a student tested positive for the virus this morning, said an official at the Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education.
In February, when South Korea’s case numbers exploded, Daegu was at the heart of the country’s outbreak. Many of the cases were linked to the Shincheonji religious group, a branch of which was based in the city.
