S. Korea sees mass COVID-19 cases linked to night clubs

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) – After battling the first wave of deadly coronavirus, South Korea detected new 102 cases linked to a night club in capital Seoul, local media reported on Tuesday.

Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expressed concern that new infections connected to bars and clubs may further rise, said Yonhap News Agency.

The coronavirus was found in a night club located in Seoul's multicultural district of Itaewon after a 29-year-old person infected with the coronavirus visited five clubs and bars on May 1-2.

South Korea had almost zero cases until the new cluster was found early in May.

The South Korean health officials said 102 confirmed cases were traced to the Itaewon group of which 64 were reported in Seoul -- biggest coronavirus bunch in the capital.

Earlier, 98 cases were reported in a call center cluster in the city's southwestern ward of Guro.

The health officials identified that most of the cases were in their 20s. 92 were men, while 10 were women.

The authorities have intensified contact tracing process and have checked around 10,300 people.

South Korea has 10,936 coronavirus cases. 258 people have died due to the infection. The country has conducted 680,890 tests to determine the coronavirus cases.