South Korea Sees Fewest New Virus Cases Since Start of Surge
South Korea Reports Fewest New Virus Cases Since Start of Surge
(Bloomberg) --
South Korea posted the fewest number of new coronavirus cases since an outbreak at a religious sect in late February spiked daily infections to almost 1,000. The government will keep in place its social distancing until May 5 to prevent a fresh surge.
South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Sunday it confirmed eight new cases in a 24-hour period, the lowest since Feb. 20 when the number of infections began rising exponentially after a parishioner of the 212,000-member Shincheonji church was confirmed with the virus.
Prior to what has been labeled “patient no. 31,” South Korea had been averaging about three new cases a day. It then set off a massive testing and tracing regime credited with curbing the virus’s spread.
While the number is good news, it’s still too early to be optimistic, Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the country’s CDC, said at a news briefing. “We remain nervous as we could be missing some infection cases and those with no or few symptoms could come in close contact with others, for a possible spike in new cases later.”
Some of restrictions on gatherings will be eased, including church services, even as the social-distancing campaign remains, the government said Sunday. Jeong urged South Koreans to keep practicing good habits to stem infections as the government prepares to bring back some normality to life in its cities.
“The best practice will be to continue social distancing, but with everyone quite exhausted with it, keeping it is not realistic,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-Kyun said at a meeting. “Frustration from restricted daily life is not the only thing we should endure as we’re also sacrificing the economic activities. We now had to find a compromise, also reducing risks.”
He said the country may go back to the normal life from May 6 if the virus situation remains under control. Discussions on re-opening of schools will also start, he said.
South Korea was one of the first major countries that has seen a sharp fall in cases after being hard hit by the virus, which could help it recover more quickly than its peers. It has only a few hundred more confirmed infections than neighbor Japan, where the numbers have been rising quickly to 10,000 confirmed cases over the weekend, raising worries of an explosive surge.
President Moon Jae-in said a key priority for his government will be protecting jobs as it works to restore the economy from the damage caused by the pandemic. The current situation requires the government “to help companies and employees with jobs and protect lives of mom-and-pop stores and the self-employed,” Moon said in a speech Sunday.
While the numbers in South Korea could flare up again, reaching a single-digit daily tally marks a milestone in its efforts to contain the virus without taking harsh measures such as imposing a lockdown or banning travel.
South Korea instead launched a massive testing campaign that’s being used as a model in other countries that included setting up drive-in centers and phone booth-like stalls for testing. Health authorities have also leveraged the country’s high-tech connectivity to aggressively track down potential infections by tracking patients’ credit card transactions and smartphone usage.
CDC reported two more deaths in the recent 24 hour period, raising the total to 234. The number of confirmed cases rose to 10,661 while 8,042 virus patients have been discharged.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.