COVID-19 variants feared to spread throughout country

People wait in line for COVID-19 testing at a temporary testing site at Gangnam Public Health Center in southern Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap

Strongest social distancing rules to start today for greater Seoul area

By Bahk Eun-ji

The fourth wave of COVID-19 infections here driven by virus variants is spreading from the Seoul metropolitan area to other parts of the country.

Although the Seoul metropolitan area will be under the strongest social distancing rules, or Level 4, starting today to curb the recent hike of infections, other regions are under looser rules and people from the capital area are moving across the country for summer vacation ― factors that are increasing concerns that other regions may also see their infection numbers grow fast.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), Sunday, Korea added 1,324 more COVID-19 cases for Saturday, including 1,280 local infections. The total caseload has reached 168,046.

Even though the daily number of cases decreased slightly from Friday's 1,378, which was the highest ever seen by Korea during the pandemic, which started here in January last year, it was mainly due to the reduced number of tests done on the weekend.

Still it was the first time for the country's daily virus infections to surpass 1,300 for three consecutive days. And for a weekend tally, it was the highest ever.

Although more than 70 percent of the new infections are taking place in the greater Seoul area, including Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, the ratio of infections in other parts of the country is increasing ― from 22.1 percent for Thursday, 22.7 percent for Friday and 24.7 percent for Saturday.

The number of new infections outside the capital region on Saturday was 316, the first time for the figure to exceed 300 since Jan. 4, when the nation was undergoing the third wave of the pandemic.

Health authorities and experts are concerned that the coronavirus can spread further to various parts of the country with the summer holiday season already beginning.

What is adding concern is the rapid spread of the Alpha and Delta variants, which are known to be more transmissible than the original strain.

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From June 27 to July 3, 39 percent of the new cases involved the variants, up 8.5 percentage points from a week earlier. For the greater Seoul area, the percentage of variants increased from 28.5 percent to 39.3 percent during the same period.

In the metropolitan area, about two times more Delta variant cases than Alpha variant cases were detected last week, according to the KDCA.

"People traveling during the summer holiday season can carry the virus from metropolitan areas to more remote regions," said Jung Jae-hoon, a professor of infectious medicine at Gachon University Gil Hospital.

"As the Delta variant is more contagious than the Alpha variant, which was first identified in the United Kingdom, citizens should refrain from gathering in large numbers as much as possible and follow the social distancing rules strictly."

The domestic terminal at Gimpo International Airport in southwestern Seoul is crowded with passengers, Sunday, as people travel for summer vacation despite the resurgence of virus cases. Yonhap

Other key quarantine indicators are also worsening alongside the surge of daily new cases.

The basic reproduction number, which shows how many people a confirmed person infects, rose to 1.34 as of Friday. The KDCA said the number could rise to 1.71 if the situation worsens.

Another risk factor is that 30 percent of patients do not know when or how they were infected.

Among the 12,265 new cases reported from June 27 to July 10, 3,712, or 30.3 percent, were categorized as having unknown infection routes, marking the highest number since April last year.

Against this backdrop, the government decided to apply the toughest distancing rules in its newly adopted four-tier system, for the greater Seoul area starting today for two weeks.

Under the Level 4 scheme, gatherings of more than two people will be prohibited after 6 p.m., while up to four people can gather during the daytime. More than two passengers are banned per taxi unless they are family members.

General multi-use facilities such as restaurants, cafes and gyms can stay open until 10 p.m., while entertainment establishments such as nightclubs will have to shut down.

School classes will be switched online, while participants in events such as weddings and funerals will be strictly limited to immediate family and relatives, for a maximum 50 people.

Incentive programs for vaccinated people, such as waivers on face mask requirements and exemptions from headcounts in private gatherings, will also be suspended.

"The basic principle of the Level 4 social distancing rules is to give a message to refrain as much as possible from unnecessary gatherings, appointments and going out," senior health ministry official Sohn Young-rae said in a press briefing, Friday.