South Korean authorities are using mobile phone data to find people who frequented nightclubs in Seoul, where a new source of contamination has appeared, they said on Tuesday.
Considered a model in the fight against the new coronavirus, the country is currently experiencing an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases after the appearance of an outbreak of contamination in a district of Seoul known for its nightlife, especially in several clubs frequented by the homosexual community.
Police deployed to find revelers
In this very conservative country, most of the clients of these establishments would hesitate to come forward to the authorities, which nevertheless guaranteed anonymity to people undergoing screening. A total of 27 new cases were identified on Tuesday in South Korea, populated by 52 million inhabitants, bringing to 10,963 the number of people positive for Covid-19, according to the authorities. Tuesday morning, 101 cases were linked to the contamination center located in Itaewon, one of the trendy districts of Seoul, the mayor of the capital, Park Won-soon, told reporters.
The city obtained a list of 10,905 people who frequented this district thanks to the data of the mobile phones provided by the operators. An SMS was sent to them, inviting them to get tested, he said. The headquarters of the South Korean agency responsible for disaster management said that nearly 2,000 people, who would have attended these clubs, were unreachable and that thousands of police would be deployed to find them.
Discrimination still very present
More than 7,000 people who have visited the area in the past two weeks have been tested, said the mayor who on Monday announced that those who try to avoid the tests will be fined two million won (1,500 euros). The number of people being tested has doubled after Seoul guaranteed privacy, he said. Homosexuality is not illegal in South Korea, but according to gay rights groups, discrimination against them remains significant.
This increase in the number of contaminations comes at a time when the country has eased the social distancing measures in force since March. South Korea was the second country most affected by the coronavirus at the end of February, after China where it had appeared. However, the authorities had managed to control the situation. The reopening of schools, scheduled for this week, has been postponed.
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