Korea reports 15 more coronavirus cases, total now 46

ThaigerPublished: 16:20, 19 February 2020| Updated: 16:20, 19 February 2020

217 1 minute read

Korea reports 15 more coronavirus cases, total now 46 — People wearing face masks pass by an electric screen about precautions against the illness COVID-19 in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. A viral outbreak that began in China has infected more than 73,000 people globally. The World Health Organization has named the illness COVID-19, referring to its origin late last year and the coronavirus that causes it. The signs read "Cough Etiquette." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

PHOTO: People wearing face masks pass by a screen in Seoul - VOA

South Korea today confirmed 15 more cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus bringing its total number of infections to 46, amid growing concerns that the illness is spreading despite tighter quarantine measures. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), 13 new patients were found in Daegu, 300 kilometres southeast of Seoul. It’s presumed they contracted the illness from a 61 year old South Korean woman who was diagnosed with the virus infection yesterday.

The country’s thhirty-first patient, thought to be a coronavirus “super spreader,” also lives in Daegu. She complained of a fever on February 10 and was tested Monday at a local health centre, and was quickly sent to a hospital and placed in quarantine. The patient visited Seoul late last month, where she was was treated in hospital following an auto accident, then returned to her everyday life, in which she often used public transport.

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All newly infected people have been placed in quarantine and are undergoing treatment.

The KCDC said yesterday that South Korea is entering a “new phase” with some confirmed cases not linked to existing spreads, meaning that those patients are judged to have contracted the COVID-19 virus without traveling abroad or coming into contact with other infected patients. The agency admitted it is not clear how some recent patients contracted the virus.