South Korea on Monday identified another case of the novel coronavirus, bringing the number of infections to 30, with the latest two cases prodding health authorities to remain alert over community transmission.
According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the country’s latest patient is the 68-year-old wife of the patient in the 29th case who tested positive on Sunday.
The man, 82, is known not to have been in contact with the country’s other virus-confirmed patients or to have recently traveled abroad. He had volunteered to transport lunch boxes to elderly people living alone and to senior centers through a regional welfare organization and was only diagnosed with the illness when he visited a hospital after visiting two clinics and a hospital.
The KCDC said focus should now be on stemming additional community transmission as the organization struggles to find out how the couple contracted the virus.
The authorities said they need to check the couple’s movements in more detail before determining how they have been infected through unknown routes.
In a related move, the country is considering testing those who suffer from pneumonia due to unknown causes for the potential COVID-19 virus. This would be done at the discretion of medical personnel.
South Korea also plans to double the number of daily COVID-19 tests from 5,000 now to 10,000 by the end of the month.
As part of ongoing efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the government has called on all 1,470 convalescent hospitals to bar workers who have traveled to Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak, from working and to screen all caregivers who look after patients for travel abroad.
The country said earlier it would take extra steps to keep close tabs on Chinese students enrolled in South Korean schools, with all local educational institutions to take charge of such people and report any signs of illness.
South Koreans on a cruise ship in Japan who are allowed to return home after being screened by Japanese authorities will still be required to remain in mandatory quarantine for two weeks after arrival in Korea.
The number of people being checked for the virus and under quarantine was 408 as of early Monday. South Korea has screened 8,171 people for COVID-19 since Jan. 3, with 7,733 testing negative and nine people having been discharged from quarantine after making full recoveries. (Yonhap)
