Korea's new Covid-19 cases spiked back as sporadic cluster infections continued to appear in Seoul and its vicinity on Wednesday. The public health authorities said that if the situation continues for another week or so, the nation may have to go back to social distancing.

The nation added 50 new cases, including 43 local infections, raising the total Covid-19 patients to 11,902 as of midnight Tuesday, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

According to the KCDC, 22 more people have recovered, raising the number of cured patients to 10,611, with 1,015 people receiving treatment. Two more people died of the virus, increasing the death toll to 276. Starting from Jan.3, the nation, with a population of 50 million, has tested 1,051,972 suspected patients until Wednesday.

Health officials have been struggling with multiple cluster infections tied to various community gatherings in Seoul and the surrounding area after the country eased its social distancing scheme to a daily life quarantine system on May 6.

The most recent outbreak is known to be related to the event of Richway, a multilevel marketing firm selling health supplements headquartered in southwestern Seoul, and a table tennis gym in Yangcheon-gu, also southwestern Seoul. The mass infection at the table tennis facility has spread to a church and elderly care center in Gyeonggi Province, while the Richway cluster infection has spread to a Korean Chinese church shelter and a door-to-door sales firm.

The accumulated number of confirmed cases related to the two epicenters has reached 119 -- 51 cases related to the table tennis center and 68 cases linked to Richway -- as of Tuesday noon. Officials fear that the number will continue to rise as new cases of related infections continue to pop up sporadically.

As part of efforts to prevent the further spread of cluster infections, the government will start to deal vigorously with citizens who don't cooperate with epidemiological surveys or quarantine efforts.

Under the new policy, unveiled during a task force meeting, people who deliberately reject epidemiological surveys or obstruct the government's quarantine efforts will be taken into custody and undergo a criminal investigation. The government will also crack down on false reports of the outbreak and detain anyone who makes more than three false reports to the health authorities.

The National Police Agency will order its regional investigation divisions to enforce anti-infection rules on disobedient nightlife businesses or illegal business operators.

"To prevent the further spread of the virus in the greater Seoul region, we will strictly hold individuals and business owners, who do not properly follow the quarantine regulations, accountable," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said. "Administrative orders must be actively issued to facilities and workplaces that are concerned about infection. If the order is violated, complaints must be taken without exception."

Any interruption or violations of epidemiological investigations or quarantine measures, and any to intentional actions that do not comply with the quarantine regulations must be promptly investigated and strictly dealt with, he added.

corea022@docdocdoc.co.kr

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