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SEOUL: South Korean President Moon Jae-in called on Monday (December 7) for expanded COVID-19 testing and more comprehensive monitoring as the country struggles to control its latest and greatest wave of infections.
The Korea Disease Prevention and Control Agency reported 615 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight Sunday, limiting a month of triple-digit daily increases that have brought 8,311 confirmed patients into quarantine, the most ever recorded. .
Moon ordered the government to mobilize all available resources to track infections and expand testing by deploying the military and more public service personnel, Blue House presidential spokesman Chung Man-ho said in a briefing.
READ: South Korea tightens the curbs of COVID-19 in the Seoul region
Moon added that test sites should operate longer hours to allow working people to be tested at their convenience and that more test facilities should be established, Chung said.
The positive rate for the latest batch of tests was about 4.2 percent, compared to the year’s average of 1.2 percent, according to the KDCA.
Starting next week, testing centers will begin using a testing kit designed to collect saliva samples more easily, hopefully reducing some of the difficulties they had faced when trying to collect usable samples, said KDCA Deputy Director Na Seong-woong, at a briefing.
While questions remain about their accuracy, the centers will also start using antigen tests, which are supposed to detect virus-specific proteins, as a stopgap measure, Na said.
Na predicted daily cases to be around 550 to 750 this week, possibly increasing to 900 a day next week.
“This crisis is the most critical yet,” he said, warning that the outbreak could lead to a “medical collapse” if the figures are not contained.
DEBATE ON NEW MEASURES
On Sunday, authorities said they will impose stricter social distancing rules for the capital Seoul and the surrounding areas, which will last at least until the end of the month.
With this third wave, the government has faced mounting criticism as cases continue to rise despite measures such as mask mandates, curfews for restaurants and other businesses, and restricted public transportation.
Among the facilities ordered to close completely are private academies or intensive schools, called “hagwon,” used by students for further study.
READ: Comment: Is South Korea doing enough to tackle its new COVID-19 wave?
The Korean Hagwons Association staged a rare public outcry over the outright ban on opening hagwons in the Seoul metropolitan area, saying it is discriminatory because other businesses, including PC cafes and student-frequented cinemas, may still be open. Until 9 PM
South Korea avoided the lockdowns, but used an intensive tracking, testing and quarantine system to crush two previous waves of infection.
The ban has raised concerns among many students and parents ahead of the final exam period, and would deepen inequality by boosting private tutoring that only well-off students can afford, he added.
In comments to a meeting of his top ministers, Moon called the wave of infections the most serious yet and apologized for failing to mitigate the increase and for the burden caused by social distancing restrictions.
Monday’s total was down slightly from Sunday, when the agency reported 631 new cases, the highest daily count since a peak in February and early March.
In total, South Korea has reported 38,161 cases, with 549 deaths.
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