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A notice of attention posted next to an elevator at an apartment complex in Seoul’s Guro District, where numerous residents have tested positive for COVID-19. (Yonhap News)

New COVID-19 cases have been emerging in such everyday settings as beauty salons, apartment complexes, and table tennis clubs. After previously spreading through the activities of specific groups such as churches and political demonstrators, the sources of infection have begun burrowing into the spaces of daily life. Disease control authorities are reiterating that everyday adherence to guidelines -- including the use of masks when riding in elevators -- is more important than upgrading the national social distancing regimen to Level 3.

On Aug. 27, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) announced that the cumulative total of confirmed cases associated with Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul’s Seongbuk District had risen to 959 as of noon that day. The number of patients associated with a Liberation Day rally in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square on Aug. 15 had also climbed to 273. For Sarang Jeil Church members who attended the Gwanghwamun demonstration, the positive testing rate was over 30%. A total of 639 Sarang Jeil Church members attended the Gwanghwamun demonstration, with infections confirmed for 79 out of the 241 members who have completed testing, or around 33%.

In addition to the cases associated with key infection clusters, a large percentage of patients represented so-called “mystery cases,” where no clear transmission route was discovered. Patients whose transmission route is “under investigation” accounted for 19.5% of the new cases over the past two weeks, with 33.2% of the additional cases confirmed on Aug. 27 falling into the category. In a regular briefing that day, KCDC Deputy Director Kwon Jun-wook said, “Since the rapid increase in confirmed cases associated with Sarang Jeil Church, there has been evidence of very widespread transmission at the local level.”

“The [infection] links have been very diverse, and the outbreak has continued with various travel activities such as summer vacations,” he explained.

The number of confirmed cases associated with one particular apartment building in Seoul’s Guro District had risen to 32 as of 6 pm on Aug. 27. One of the residents works at a meat-processing company called Bibipam (in Seoul’s Geumcheon District), 20 of his co-workers, three of his family members, and five people who live in the same apartment complex tested positive. Disease control authorities concluded that the apartment’s elevator was a more likely source of transmission than air vents. Kwon explained, “The investigation determined that the patient whose symptoms appeared the earliest lives on a higher floor within the same apartment building, which suggests that the possibility of transmission through air vents is not high.”

“There is a possibility that transmission has occurred within the elevator, like we saw with another apartment in Uijeongbu. It’s essential to always wear a mask, even in elevators,” he added.

Indeed, the Guro District Office announced that “all five of the households where cases were confirmed are residents of the same section, and an analysis of 14 samples taken from the vents did not find any virus.”

At the Hair Kok’s Yeonsinnae branch in Seoul’s Eunpyeong District, an additional eight cases were diagnosed, bringing the total of confirmed cases to nine since the first patient tested positive on Aug. 22. Additional cases were found of transmission to family members and acquaintances of salon employees. In the cities of Anyang and Gunpo in Gyeonggi Province, an additional 16 cases associated with a group of friends were confirmed, bringing the total to 17. Infections have also been taking place through athletic facilities.

In Gwangju, the number of cases associated with the Donggwangju Table Tennis Club rose by 11 to reach a cumulative total of 12. An additional seven people who had been self-quarantining in connection with an indoor gymnasium in Wonju, Gangwon Province, also tested positive, bringing the total to 64.

Kwon Jun-wook said, “While the social distancing level is a concern, it’s more important right now that people engage in behavior that is suited to each level.”

“You should always wear a mask, whether you’re in environments like an elevator, a restaurant, or a karaoke room, and even [in coffee shops] during the times when you aren’t drinking your beverage,” he urged. In particular, disease control authorities called on senior citizens aged 65 and over and people with underlying health conditions to practice distancing on par with “lockdown” levels.

By Park Da-hae, Song Gyung-hwa, and Seo Hye-mi, staff reporters

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