Updates on COVID-19 in Republic of Korea

23 May 2020

○ As of 0:00, 23 May 2020, the total number of confirmed cases is 11,165 (including 1,204 imported cases), of which 10,194 cases have been discharged from isolation. Newly confirmed cases are 23 in total.

[Table 1. Total reported/tested cases]
Period (since 3 Jan)	Total	Tested positive (PCR)				Testing in progress	Tested negative (PCR)
		Confirmed	Discharged from isolation	Under isolation	Deceased
As of 0:00 22 May (Fri)	802,418	11,142	10,162	716	264	20,286	770,990
As of 0:00 23 May (Sat)	814,420	11,165	10,194	705	266	21,569	781,686
Difference	(+)12,002	(+)23	(+)32	(-)11	2	(+)1,283	(+)10,696

 

[Table 2. Imported cases in Korea (as of 0:00, 23 May 2020)]
	Total	Region/Country						Where confirmed		Nationality
		China	Asia ex-China	Europe	Americas	Africa	Australia	Point of Entry	Community	Korean	Other
New	4	0	4	0	0	0	0	3	1	3	1
Total	1,204	19	197	468	511	8	1	514	690	1,064	140
		(1.6%)	(16.4%)	(38.9%)	(42.4%)	(0.7%)	(0.1%)	(42.7%)	(57.3%)	(88.4%)	(11.6%)

* Figures may change based on findings from ongoing local epidemiological investigation efforts.

 

○ Of the 23 new cases, 4 were imported cases and 19 were locally transmitted cases.

  - Of the 4 imported cases, 2 are from UAE, 1 from Kuwait, and 1 from Bangladesh.

  - Of the 19 locally transmitted cases, 10 confirmed cases are related to nightclubs, and 9 confirmed cases are from other sources.

 

○ Between 0:00 and 12:00 today (23 May), 2 additional cases have been confirmed, making total of 219 confirmed cases related to the nightclubs.

• (By region) Seoul City=103, Gyeonggi Province=55, Incheon City=40, Chungbuk Province=9, Busan City=4, Gyeongnam Province=2, Jeonbuk Province=2, Daejeon City=1, Chungnam Province=1, Gangwon Province=1, Jeju Province=1 • (By chain of transmission) Club visitors=95; Contacts (family/acquaintance/coworkers/etc)=124 • (By age group) [0-18]=25; [19-29]=121; [30-39]=32; [40-49]=18; [50-59]=12; [60+]=11 • (By sex) male 173, female 46

 

○ In Seoul City, 3 additional cases(2 staff, and 1 family member of the staff) were confirmed from a bar related to a nurse working at Samsung Medical Center. All persons who visited the bar and karaoke room between 9~10 May are requested to visit a nearby screening clinic and get tested for COVID-19.

   * SBS karaoke room, Holics pub, and Abkari restaurant located at 77gil, Seocho-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul

 

○ Related to an intern pastor at Grace Methodist Church at Yangcheon-gu, Seoul City, 3 additional cases were confirmed at Gyonggi province making a total of 7 confirmed cases. Investigation on chain of transmission is ongoing.

 

○ KCDC provided the following guidance for COVID-19 prevention and timely response in schools.

  - Students, teachers, and staff should check their symptoms in the morning and stay home if they have fever or respiratory symptoms. They should keep facemasks on at all time while in school and strictly follow personal hygiene measures such as hand washing and cough etiquette.

  - KCDC especially asked students to avoid karaoke rooms, PC cafes and teachers and staff to avoid nightclubs, bars, karaoke rooms and PC cafes.

  - Schools should ensure that every student’s body temperature is checked before the student enters classroom. If a student has temperature of 37.5 degrees or above or have other suspected symptoms, the school should have the student put on an MFDS-approved facemask (i.e. KF80, KF94, or KF99) and wait in a separate location while the school contacts the student’s parent or guardian.

  - If a confirmed case is found in a school, all students, teachers, and staff of the school will be instructed to put on an MFDS-approved facemask and return home. Local municipal government will conduct epidemiological investigation, disinfection, restriction of use of the affected facility, and other necessary infection control measures.

  - KCDC is having daily meetings with the Ministry of Education and the National Fire Agency to share up-to-date information on the classroom learning of high school seniors and to address challenges and any need for improvement.

 

○ In light of the recent rise in local transmissions related to clubs, bars, karaoke rooms, and after-school private academies, KCDC urged people to refrain from social gathering or visiting any enclosed/confined/crowded spaces that are frequented by many people.

  - People who cannot avoid visiting an enclosed/crowded space for an essential reason should carefully follow personal hygiene measures including keeping 2 meters of distance from other people, wearing a facemask, avoiding handshakes, washing hands, and not touching eyes, nose, or mouth with their hands.

  - Persons belonging to high-risk groups (including elderly, pregnant women, persons with chronic illness) should especially avoid any poorly ventilated enclosed space frequented by many people. If such a situation cannot be avoided for an essential reason, it is highly important to wear a facemask.

 

○ During the weekend, religious facilities and houses of worship also need to take precautions as there is a risk of exposure to a large number of people. Online or other non-face-to-face methods of gathering and worship are recommended.

  - Facilities hosting on-site events need to check everyone’s body temperature, maintain distance between participants, require everyone to wear a mask at all times, and refrain from providing group meals or engaging in activities that make respiratory droplets travel in air such as singing and shouting.

 

○ Anyone who has come in close contact with a large number of unspecified persons in an enclosed/confined space such as clubs or bars need to be tested at a screening clinic through public health center or 1339 call center.

  - KCDC urged people to visit a screening clinic and get tested especially if two or more persons within a household or social group develop COVID-19 suspected symptoms.

“5 Basic Infection Prevention Rules for Everyone” (1) Stay home for 3-4 days if you get sick. (2) Keep a distance of two arms’ length between you and other people. (3) Wash your hands for 30 seconds. Cough/sneeze into your sleeve. (4) Ventilate your space at least twice a day and disinfect regularly.

[Table 3: Regional distribution and epidemiological links of the confirmed cases]
Region	Confirmed cases									Other major clusters
	Total	Imported cases	Clusters					Other*	New cases
			Sub- total	Shin- cheonji	Other clusters	Contacts of confirmed cases	Imported cases
Seoul	762	268	467	8	373	17	69	27	4	Itaewon clubs (103), Guro-gu call center (98), Dong-an Church-PC Cafe (20), Manmin Central Church (41), etc.
Busan	144	27	88	12	57	18	1	29	0	Itaewon clubs (4), Onchun Church (39), Suyeong-gu Kindergarten (5), etc.
Daegu	6,873	25	6,116	4,510	678	924	4	732	1	Second Mi-Ju Hospital (196), Hansarang Convalescent Hospital (128), Daesil Convalescent Hospital (100), Fatima Hospital (37), etc.
Incheon	141	47	89	2	74	6	7	5	0	Itaewon clubs (40), Guro-gu call center (20), etc.
Gwangju	30	14	16	9	0	1	6	0	0
Daejeon	45	14	22	2	12	8	0	9	1	Itaewon clubs (1), Korea Forest Engineer Institute (3), etc.
Ulsan	50	19	24	16	2	3	3	7	0
Sejong	47	4	42	1	38	3	0	1	0	Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (30), gym facilities (8)
Gyeonggi	754	178	528	29	385	52	62	48	13	Itaewon clubs (53), Grace River Church in Seongnam (72), Guro-gu call center-Bucheon SaengMyeongSu Church (48), Uijeongbu St. Mary’s Hospital (50), etc.
Gangwon	55	15	33	17	16	0	0	7	0	Itaewon clubs (1), Apartments in Wonju City (3), Uijeongbu St. Mary’s Hospital (10), etc.
Chung- buk	59	8	42	6	27	7	2	9	0	Itaewon clubs (9), Goesan-gun Jangyeon-myeon (11), etc.
Chung- nam	145	13	122	0	120	1	1	10	0	Itaewon clubs (1), Gym facilities in Cheonan (103), research center in Seosan (9), etc.
Jeonbuk	21	10	6	1	5	0	0	5	0	Itaewon clubs (2)
Jeonnam	18	10	5	1	1	2	1	3	0
Gyeong- buk	1,370	13	1,225	566	468	191	0	132	0	Cheongdo Daenam Hospital (120), Bonghwa Pureun Nursing Home (68), pilgrimage to Israel (49), Gyeongsan Seo Convalescent Hospital (66), Yecheon-gun (41), etc.
Gyeong- nam	123	17	87	32	48	6	1	19	1	Itaewon clubs (2), Geochang Church (10), Geochang Woongyang-myeon (8), Wings Tower (10), etc.
Jeju	14	8	2	0	1	0	1	4	0	Itaewon clubs (1),
Airport	514	514	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
Total	11,165	1,204	8,914	5,212	2,305	1,239	158	1,047	23
	( % )	(10.8)	(79.8)	(46.7)	(20.6)	(11.1)	(1.4)	(9.4)
* Not classified into a cluster or under investigation ※ The interim classification is based on the reporting location, which may change depending on further epidemiological investigation.

[Figure 1: Daily confirmed cases by chain of transmission]

TOTAL

Seoul

City

Gyeonggi

Province

Daegu

City

Gyeongbuk

Province

 

[Table 4: Age distribution of severe cases]

 

Age group	Total	Severe	(	%	)	Very severe	(	%	)
Total	14	5	(	100.0	)	9	(	100.0	)
80 and above	6	3	(	60.0	)	3	(	33.3	)
70-79	3	0	(	0.0	)	3	(	33.3	)
60-69	2	1	(	20.0	)	1	(	11.1	)
50-59	1	1	(	20.0	)	0	(	0.0	)
40-49	2	0	(	0.0	)	2	(	22.2	)
30-39	0	0	(	0.0	)	0	(	0.0	)
20-29	0	0	(	0.0	)	0	(	0.0	)
10-19	0	0	(	0.0	)	0	(	0.0	)
0-9	0	0	(	0.0	)	0	(	0.0	)

[Figure 2: New cases (for last 2 weeks) by chain of transmission]