[ad_1]
Photo = Yonhap News
The ‘third pandemic’ of a new coronavirus infection in Korea (Corona 19) has passed its peak and is trending downward. The number of confirmed patients per day has increased to 1,000, but has recently decreased to 500.
The government plans to confirm steps to keep it there and whether to extend the ban on gatherings of five or more people while observing the situation this week.
According to the Central Defense Countermeasures Headquarters (Bangdaebon) on the 14th, at 0 am the previous day, 562 new cases were confirmed.
Although it increased slightly from the last 12 days (537), it remained at the 500 level for two consecutive days.
As such, it has been about a month from the 2nd to the 3rd of last month (511,540) that the number of confirmed patients in the 500 range came out for two consecutive days.
The number of new confirmed cases to be announced at 0 o’clock today is expected to reach around 500.
From the 7th to the 13th of this month, the number of confirmed cases of regional outbreaks in the last week registered an average of 593.3 per day. In the metropolitan area, the daily average was 413.4. Compared to the 1,000 people they surpassed in late December, when the third pandemic was in full swing, the number has dropped significantly.
Yoon Tae-ho, head of the Accident Control Headquarters, said in a briefing the previous day, “A trend of decreasing patients is emerging, but the pace is still slow and the period is less than two weeks.”
The quarantine authorities plan to announce this weekend a distancing adjustment plan that will be applied from the 18th day. To lower the current stage, the average daily number of confirmed cases in the region and the number of confirmed cases in their 60s. years or more should show a marked decline.
In this situation, the Lunar New Year holiday (2.11-14), which has been approaching for about a month, is expected to be another variable.
This is because the risk of infection can increase if a large number of people move during the holidays in a situation where the number of confirmed cases is in the hundreds of units as it is now.
To date, the government has secured 56 million vaccines through the COVAX facility, an international project for the joint purchasing and distribution of vaccines with multinational pharmaceutical companies.
Vaccinations are scheduled to begin next month for workers in high-risk medical institutions, people living in group facilities, and the elderly (65 and older).
“Until February, when vaccines and treatments are phased in, we need to create a stable situation while suppressing the scale of the outbreak as much as possible,” Yoon said. “Please cancel all private meetings and gatherings until this week.”
Eunji Cha, Reporter Hankyung.com [email protected]
Ⓒ Hankyung.com prohibits unauthorized reproduction and redistribution