60 foreigners infected with coronavirus in S. Korea

A total of 60 foreign nationals have been infected with the novel coronavirus so far in South Korea, government data showed Monday, as the country sees a growing number of cases stemming from overseas.

According to data provided by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to The Korea Herald, the majority, or 38, of the total cases involve Chinese nationals, followed by seven from the United States.

There were two cases each from Vietnam, Mongolia, Thailand, Australia and Argentina, and one each from Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Uzbekistan and Poland.

Eight of the total are believed to have contracted the virus abroad -- six in China, one in France, one in Poland -- before entering the country, said KCDC Director Jung Eun-kyeong at a briefing.

The KCDC did not disclose information on transmission paths of the remaining 52.

As overseas infection cases grow, the government expanded quarantine screening for those entering Korea from all European countries, from the previous six.

The move comes as Europe has seen a spike in confirmed cases of COVID-19 in recent days. The number of infections reached more than 24,000 in Italy, the largest outbreak of the virus outside mainland China.

There were 8,236 cases of the virus in Korea with 75 deaths as of Monday, according to the KCDC data.

Some 50 coronavirus cases in the country were considered as “imported from abroad,” involving either foreign or Korean nationals. Some 22 people tested positive after traveling in Europe, according to the agency.

(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)