A man wearing a face mask is reflected in the window as he walks past a night club, now closed following a visit by a confirmed COVID-19 coronavirus patient, in the nightlife district of Itaewon in Seoul on May 12, 2020. - South Korean authorities were using mobile phone data on May 12 to trace Seoul nightclub visitors as they try to tackle a coronavirus cluster, they said, promising anonymity to those being tested due to the stigma surrounding homosexuality. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP) (Photo by JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images)
At least 153 confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been linked to the Itaewon nightclub cluster in the South Korean capital of Seoul, according to the country’s Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (KCDC).
So far, about 46,000 tests have been conducted in relation to the cluster in the Itaewon district, KCDC Director Jung Eun-kyeong said Friday. An estimated 5,500 people visited the five affected nightclubs and around 4,300 of those have been tested.
Some of the clubs are frequented by members of South Korea’s gay community, a detail which has led to an outpouring of hate speech towards the country’s already-embattled LGBTQ population.
