South Korea’s Virus Outbreak May Be Slowing, Officials Say
South Korea’s Virus Outbreak May Be Slowing, Officials Say
(Bloomberg) -- The coronavirus outbreak in South Korea is showing signs of slowing as the rate of new daily infections falls and health authorities almost finished testing members of a religious sect at the center of the epidemic, the country’s health minister said.
With the number of new cases slowing to 367 from 483 the day before, Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said late Sunday the virus spread -- once the biggest globally outside of China -- appeared to be “a little bit stagnant.” The country was at an early stage of stabilizing the outbreak in the city of Daegu and North Gyeongsang province, where the majority of new cases have been reported.
South Korea was averaging more than 500 new virus infections a day last week, but the daily tally has fallen below that for the last three days, said Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun. On Monday, the country reported 248 new cases for a total of 7,382 thus far, and now ranks behind Italy in the size of its outbreak.
“We’re still very cautious, but there is hope that the government, the local government, the medical community, and the citizens all together will be able to create a turning point soon,” the prime minister said.
South Korea has borne its virus outbreak relatively well despite the scale of the spread. The country has been testing people for the virus at the fastest pace in the world, which appears to have allowed early detection of cases and keep its mortality rate lower than average. Infections have also been largely contained to Daegu and surrounding areas, although the government has not imposed restrictions over people’s movements like in China and Italy.
“New cases of coronavirus have been continuously slowing down, to 248 yesterday, after reaching a peak of 916 on Feb. 28. We should continue this trend,” President Moon Jae-in said in a meeting with his senior secretaries Monday. “Still, we need to stay vigilant as sporadic small group infections in Daegu, North Gyeongsang and other areas continue.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Shinhye Kang in Seoul at skang24@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Pae at ppae1@bloomberg.net, Rachel Chang
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