A medical staff member (R) wearing protective clothing guides visitors to take a COVID-19 coronavirus test at a virus testing station 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)
There are now 247 cases of coronavirus in South Korea tied to an outbreak in Itaweon, a popular nightlife district in the capital of Seoul, health officials said.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said Tuesday that 83,000 tests have been conducted in connection with the outbreak. About 30% of the nearly 250 who were confirmed positive are asymptomatic, the KCDC added.
Many clubs in the district are popular with Seoul’s gay community, and the outbreak sparked an outpouring of hate speech toward the country’s already-embattled LGBTQ population.
