South Korean health authorities have warned that the country is in the midst of a second wave of the coronavirus outbreak.
The director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday a second wave of infections wasn't expected to occur until sometime in the fall or winter, but that it is now clear that a new wave is currently in progress. She said the uptick began in early May as the country began easing restrictions and was triggered in part by infections among nightclub and bar-goers in the Seoul metropolitan area during a holiday weekend.
The mayor of Seoul said Monday that if the number of daily infections doesn't drop in the coming days, residents can expect a return to stricter social distancing measures. He reminded residents that "if Seoul gets penetrated [by the virus], the entire Republic of Korea gets penetrated," and warned that the country could soon see as many as 800 new daily cases if transmission rates stay where they are.
