South Korea To Tighten Social Distancing As COVID-19 Takes 'A Very Dangerous Turn'

South Korea reported more than 200 new coronavirus cases for the third consecutive day on Monday, as the government mulls tightening social distancing to curb persistent outbreaks from offices, medical facilities and small gatherings.

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The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) posted 223 cases as of Sunday midnight, marking the eighth straight day of triple-digit increases and the highest since early September.

Of them, 202 were locally transmitted and 28 imported, and nearly 68% of the domestic infections came from the greater Seoul area, KDCA data showed.

The numbers took the country¡¯s total infections to 28,998, with 494 deaths.

What are the new curbs?

Health authorities warned of re-strengthening distancing curbs which were relaxed about a month ago to the lowest levels, as small cluster infections continue to break out while the pandemic is raging around the globe.

Reuters

Starting Tuesday midnight, tighter curbs would ban public gatherings of 100 people or more, limit religious services and audiences at sporting events to 30% of capacity, and require high-risk facilities including clubs and karaoke bars to widen distance among guests.

¡°We are at a critical crossroads where we might have to readjust distancing,¡± Health Minister Park Neung-hoo told a meeting as per Reuters.

¡°The current situation is taking a very dangerous turn considering the rising infections from daily lives and the unrelenting pace of the spread.¡±

Success story turned a battle

South Korea has been one of the world¡¯s coronavirus mitigation success stories after tackling the first major COVID-19 epidemic outside China with aggressive tracing and testing, but continues to battle persistent rises in infections.

Reuters

Earlier in June, South Korea¡¯s response to COVID-19 was widely praised. The country stood out because it flattened the epidemic curve quickly without closing businesses, issuing stay-at-home orders, or implementing many of the stricter measures adopted by other high-income countries. The country had shown early success across three phases of the epidemic preparedness and response framework: detection, containment, and treatment. From the outset, decision making in South Korea has been a collaboration between the government and the scientific community.

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Overall, South Korea, a country of roughly 52 million ¡ª about six times smaller than the US population ¡ª has had more than 300 times fewer cases than the U.S. and, as of October 5, only 422 deaths. Despite several small flare-ups in recent months, and even a spike that, since August 12, had linked more than 1,170 infections to a single church, most establishments remained open, and life was largely back to business as usual.

AFP

When did it begin?

South Korea reported its first case on January 20, 2020, and had a difficult start especially when a sudden outbreak was reported in Daegu, a city which is a hotspot for industry and transportation. Since then South Korea has reported a surge in number of deaths, with the highest number of active cases 7,362 in the month of May.

AFP Images

This number is still on a lower scale given that Korea is one of the first countries to be affected by the coronavirus outside of China and since then the scale has flattened gradually, allowing Korea to reopen its economy. Their fight against coronavirus can be attributed to various strategies and measures taken by the South Korean Government.