Coronavirus: South Korea’s early wins dim with new cluster of cases

A 29-year-old man who visited five bars in one night has been linked to 50 new coronavirus cases in South Korea, providing a cautionary tale for Australia as restrictions are eased.

Military personnel patrol a street in the Itaewon district. Picture: Bloomberg News.

South Korea, which largely succeeded in quelling the initial spread of the coronavirus, is back on the defensive, with Seoul’s bars and clubs ordered closed as the country reported its biggest one-day increase in new infections in a month.

More than 50 cases have been linked to a 29-year-old man who, in a single night last weekend, visited five clubs and bars in a popular Seoul neighbourhood, health officials said. He tested positive on Wednesday — the same day the South Korean government rolled out relaxed social-distancing measures.

The fresh virus cases, following days of no reported local infections, show how difficult it might be to return to normalcy. The country of roughly 51 million people hadn’t resorted to a lockdown like the US and Europe. Instead, South Korea relied on aggressive testing, tech-heavy contact tracing and a willingness by many to stay indoors. The use of face masks remains widespread.

On Sunday, South Korean officials said 54 cases had been linked to Seoul’s night clubs and bars. President Moon Jae-in, in a national address, pointed to the new cluster of cases and warned a second wave of infections could arise anytime and anywhere.

“It will be a long time before the COVID-19 outbreak has ended completely,” Mr Moon said Sunday. “It’s not over until it’s over.”

A man wearing a face mask walks in the popular night-life district of Itaewon in Seoul. Picture: AFP.

South Korea was an early victim in the pandemic. Lauded for a quick response to its outbreak, the Seoul government spent weeks contemplating a new playbook for managing life with coronavirus. Late last month, it released guidelines advising against high-fives at sporting events and for zigzag seating at restaurants as well as outlining how close visitors may stand to each other at zoos.

But before those measures could take effect, new infections had begun to spread in Seoul’s Itaewon neighbourhood. Health officials, poring over security-camera footage and credit-card statements, have expanded their investigation to more than 5,000 individuals. Some of the clubbers have infected family members.

On Saturday, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon issued an administrative order, lasting at least a month, banning large crowds at clubs, bars and other entertainment venues. Violators are subject to severe punishment, he added, including fines. “Carelessness can lead to an explosion in infections,” Mr Park said. “The effort made by the citizens and medical staff could turn to dust in a moment.”

Wendell Louie, who owns multiple establishments, including a cocktail bar in the Itaewon area, requires customers to have their temperatures checked and provide their name and phone number. He suspects the closure might affect only bars with dancing, rather than his venues, which also operate as restaurants. He plans to stay open.

But the new cluster of infections has pushed back expectations among local business owners that there could be a return to normal in May.

“I think that’s been pushed back a month,” Mr Louie said. “Now everybody is hoping it’ll be June.”

The Itaewon venues had also taken down phone numbers, though health officials have been unable to reach more than a third of the roughly 5,000 people. They suspect clubbers had provided inaccurate information.

When the 29-year-old man’s case was made public, South Korean media reported the establishments he visited were some of Seoul’s most popular gay clubs, which could explain why some clubbers provided inaccurate contact information.

Same-sex marriage isn’t legal in South Korea, which ranked fourth lowest for gay and transgender inclusiveness among 35 countries surveyed for a 2017 report published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

South Korea’s contact-tracing allowed investigators to pinpoint the 29-year-old man’s whereabouts from the evening of May 1 until the early hours of the following day. A report published on the local district’s website provided his travel details, the company he works for and other sensitive information.

While authorities didn’t release the man’s name, some people believe his identity could be determined from the information they did disclose.

In the days following, the phrases “Itaewon Coronavirus” and “gay” ranked among South Korea’s most-searched queries. Some online commenters suggested anyone attending those clubs should leave the country.

Seoul-based LGBT rights organisations issued statements asking citizens to stop criticising and mocking sexual minorities, saying it did little to aid preventive measures. They were also critical of the publication of the 29-year-old man’s sensitive information.

“It violates one’s privacy and it is a grave human-rights violation exposing one’s identity and outing them to the public,” the Seoul-based Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea said Thursday.

The same day, a 26-year-old uploaded a petition to South Korea’s presidential Blue House, asking the government to mediate “anti-human rights and biased media reports” relating to the first reported Itaewon case. “Please stop the media from using terms such as ‘gay club’ and ‘gay bar,’ which forcefully outs sexual minorities who were at the club, and could prompt people to hide and avoid testing or quarantine,” wrote the petitioner, who claims to be part of a sexual minority.

Some South Korean media outlets, after a backlash, changed headlines that had referred to gay clubs, describing them instead as popular clubs. At least one provincial government has allowed individuals to be tested without divulging to the public if they had visited Itaewon clubs or bars — though they are ordered to avoid contact with others for two weeks.

Jung Eun-kyeong, the head of South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said personal information would be protected as much as possible. But Ms. Jung said people who had been to the Itaewon clubs recently should get tested to protect their own health, as well as the health of their families and colleagues. People should be tested whether they have shown symptoms or not, she added.

“This is a fight against time,” Ms. Jung said at a Sunday briefing.

The Wall St Journal