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Footballguy
Spike in South Korean cases - Super spreader possibly loose
South Korea has reported a sudden spike of 20 new cases of coronavirus infection, raising concerns about a potential “super spreader” who has already infected 14 people in church.
This brings the total number of cases in the country to 51, sending alarm bells ringing as the government scrambled to strengthen quarantine measures to contain possible community spread.
Epidemiological investigations showed that 14 of the new cases revealed on Wednesday (Feb 19) attended the same church as the 31st patient - a 61-year-old Korean woman who developed sore throat on Feb 8 and was diagnosed on Tuesday.
It is not clear how she could have contracted the virus as she did not travel overseas recently and had no contact with the confirmed cases before her.
The woman, a native of the south-eastern city Daegu, is known to have come into contact with 166 people, all of whom have been quarantined. This includes her husband and two children.
The Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said the woman was warded for 10 days from Feb 7 at Saeronan Oriental Hospital in Daegu. She was hospitalised after a car accident on Feb 6.
As her injuries were minor, she left the hospital to attend a two-hour religious service at Shincheonji Church of Jesus on Feb 9, and again on Feb 16. She also had lunch with an acquaintance at a hotel buffet restaurant on Feb 15.