Tag: coronavirus

With the weather getting colder these spikes in cases are occurring all over the northern hemisphere, but South Korea’s spike is way smaller than others:

South Korea’s new coronavirus cases hovered above 300 on Wednesday to reach the highest level since late August, setting alarm bells ringing over another potential wave of the pandemic.

The country added 313 more COVID-19 cases, including 245 local infections, raising the total caseload to 29,311, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

The daily figure exceeded 300 for the first time since Aug. 29, with the daily caseload hovering over 200 in the last four days.

Cluster infections from private gatherings, public facilities and hospitals continued to occur in several parts of the nation, making it harder for health authorities to pin down potential cases and curb the spread of the virus.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The COVID issue continues to expand in South Korea:

South Korea’s new coronavirus cases exceeded 200 for a second straight day on Sunday due to cluster infections, with health authorities considering raising the social distancing scheme by a notch in the five-tier system.

The country added 208 more COVID-19 cases, including 176 local infections, raising the total caseload to 28,546, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). 

The daily new cases stayed in the triple digits for the eighth consecutive day. The cases exceeded 200 for the first time in 73 days with a mark of 205 on Saturday. 

KDCA reported one additional death, raising the total to 493. The fatality rate came to 1.73 percent.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but once again context is important. 200+ daily coronavirus infections in a country of 51 million people is extremely low. For example the city of El Paso, Texas which is a coronavirus hotbed right now, had 981 new cases and 762 deaths. El Paso has a population of 682,000 people.

Here is the latest COVID regulations to be put in place in South Korea:

Health authorities Sunday announced a new five-tier social distancing system to replace the current three-tier scheme, which they hope will minimize shutdown orders for local businesses while cranking up mandatory preventive measures such as mask wearing, social distancing and better ventilation.  
   
The new measures came as the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced Sunday morning that the nation added 124 new infections of the coronavirus Saturday, the fifth day in a row that the daily tally was above 100.  
   
No large-scale clusters have been reported yet from Halloween revelry last Saturday in bars in Itaewon, central Seoul; Hongdae, western Seoul; and Gangnam District, southern Seoul. Many popular nightclubs closed that day in compliance with recommendations from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which feared partygoers spreading the virus like in May, when a cluster of some 300 coronavirus infections emerged from several nightclubs in Itaewon.  (…………..)

There will be five levels — Levels 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3 — with each level having different guidelines and rules. Level 1 has been dubbed “the stage of everyday preventive measures,” while Level 1.5 and Level 2 have been dubbed “the stage of regional spread.” Level 2.5 and Level 3 are together called “the stage of national spread.”  
   
In the past, the central government usually imposed one of three social distancing levels for the entire nation, even when most new infections were coming from hot spots limited to a few areas. In the new system, the country will be divided into seven areas, and each zone will be monitored separately. That means one area can be subject to Level 1, while another is subject to Level 3.  
   
The seven zones are the Seoul metropolitan area encompassing Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi, also known as greater Seoul; the Chungcheong area of North Chungcheong and South Chungcheong; the Honam area of North Jeolla and South Jeolla; North Gyeongsang; South Gyeongsang; Gangwon; and Jeju Island.  
   
In the past, the main criterion for deciding whether to adjust the social distancing level was the number of new infections detected nationwide over the prior two weeks. Now, that has been shortened to a single week.  

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read much more about the new social distancing guidelines at the link.

This is just more of the new normal in South Korea of dealing with coronavirus outbreaks at different locations around the country; the latest area is in Busan:

More than 50 patients and workers at a nursing hospital in Busan have been diagnosed with COVID-19, municipal authorities said Wednesday, in the southern port city’s latest coronavirus cluster.

The authorities said 43 patients of the Busan nursing hospital, located in the city’s Mandeok neighborhood, and its 10 staff members tested positive for the new coronavirus. One of the infected patients has already died, they added.

The authorities also said that four other people from the same room as the deceased have died with similar symptoms.

Including the four, eight deaths have been reported in the nursing hospital over the last month.

The mass virus infections have come to light after an assistant nurse in her 50s was confirmed to be infected Tuesday, prompting the authorities to conduct the coronavirus tests for all 261 patients and staff.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Apparently the long holiday weekend which led to less testing is what may have caused this drop:

 South Korea’s new coronavirus cases stayed below 100 for the sixth straight day Tuesday, but the country is bracing for a possible resurgence in new infections after a long holiday, as a slew of sporadic clusters were reported. 

The country added 75 more COVID-19 cases, including 66 local infections, raising the total caseload to 24,239, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

It marked a slight rise from 73 posted on Monday and 64 cases reported on Sunday.

After daily infections hit 133 on Wednesday last week, they have been in double-digit figures. The drop was in part attributed to fewer tests carried out over the five-day Chuseok holiday that ran through Sunday.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I wonder how stringently this law is going to be enforced? My suspicion is that it will be selectively enforced just like traffic laws to make a point from time to time:

South Korea will impose a fine on people who fail to wear face masks in public spaces and on transportation starting Nov. 13 to better combat the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Sunday. 

The general public will be required to wear masks on public transportation and at demonstrations as well as medical and care facilities, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

If people do not wear masks in such spaces, they will face a fine of up to 100,000 won ($85.50), the KDCA said. 

However, the obligation will be exempted for people aged under 14 and those who are unable to wear masks due to medical conditions, officials said. 

The fine could also be applied to people who wear masks under their noses in such spaces, the KDCA said. 

The nation will launch a 30-day grace period for mandatory masks in such spaces starting Oct. 13. 

A scarf or certain types of masks that cannot protect others from the virus will not be allowed under the obligation, the KDCA said. 

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

At the end of the article the journalist admits that she sees know way the U.S. could replicate what South Korea has done because of the different mentality of Americans:

A bag arrived from the local authority the next day that contained a thermometer, a pack of disposable masks, two types of hand sanitizers and a garbage bag. For the two weeks of my quarantine, I would need to discard any of my garbage in the government-mandated bag. I was told it would be collected at the end of my stay.

On day seven of the quarantine, my mom received yet another call from my appointed Covid-19 contact. They wanted to speak with me. I was asked to confirm that I was, in fact, me, before asking some questions and offering mental health services if I required one.

Whenever a new case emerged in a neighboring town, my iPhone would ping with a new notification, the same noise phones make when there is an Amber Alert in the U.S. I would get two or three of these alerts almost every day.

NBC News

You can read more about her whole experience traveling to South Korea under pandemic conditions at the link.

It appears that the lockdown measures South Korea implemented on Seoul is slowly reducing coronavirus infections:

South Korea’s daily new coronavirus cases stayed below 100 for the second consecutive day Monday in what could be a sign of a slowdown in new infections, but the continued high number of untraceable cases and sporadic clusters pose challenges to the country’s virus fight.

The country added 70 more COVID-19 cases, including 55 local infections, raising the total caseload to 23,045, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

On Sunday, the number of daily new infections fell below 100 for the first time in 38 days at 82.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the lockdown measures are going to continue for an additional week because of the fear that the upcoming Chuseok holiday will cause the virus to spread.

It looks like the Korean government in addition to using libel laws, will now sue the organizers of anti-government rallies:

The Seoul city government said Friday it plans to file a 4.6 billion-won (US$3.9 million) compensation suit against a pastor blamed for worsening the new coronavirus outbreak here by holding mass rallies in central Seoul.

Despite warnings against holding mass rallies, Jun Kwang-hoon, who pastors Sarang Jeil Church in northern Seoul, is suspected of leading anti-government protests in central Seoul in mid-August that thousands of people attended. Jun, himself, later tested positive.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like small business owners are about to get some relief from the coronavirus restrictions:

South Korea will relax business restrictions on eateries, franchise coffee chains and other facilities in the wider Seoul area, as the country decided Sunday to ease tougher anti-virus curbs in the region for the next two weeks.

The country decided not to extend the so-called Level 2.5 social distancing scheme, set to end at midnight, in the densely populated capital area, as the stricter curbs have been effective in slowing new virus cases, according to health authorities.

Starting Monday, the Seoul metropolitan area will be placed back under the Level 2 rules in the three-tier system, on a par with the nationwide alert level, until Sept. 27.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.