South Korea is grappling to contain a spike in new coronavirus cases as clusters continue to pop up in cities across the country, putting authorities and the public on edge.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday reported 79 new cases from the previous day, raising the national count to 11,344.
This marks the biggest daily increase in 53 days and was mostly attributed to mass infections at e-commerce operator Coupang's logistics center in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province.
At least 69 cases have been linked to this cluster as of Thursday morning.
Health authorities are worried that more cases will follow as some 4,000 people are being tested for possible exposure to the virus.
Adding to woes, official confirmed that worker at the Coupang facility also worked part-time at one of the country's largest call centers, also located in Bucheon, which employs around 1,600 people.
Meanwhile, nearly 260 cases of infection have been linked to the outbreak at clubs and bars in Seoul's Itaewon area.
Authorities are still trying to determine whether cases from the logistics center and Itaewon are connected.
Despite the surge in COVID-19 cases, the KCDC said the death toll remain unchanged at 269 while the recovery figure jumped by 45 to 10,340.
<Photo: Yonhap News>
