[ad_1]
Seoul: South Korea reported another daily increase of more than 200 new COVID-19 cases on Monday (Nov. 23), a day after it tightened social distancing rules as it battled a third wave of infections.
The daily count of 271 new cases was a drop from the 330 reported on Sunday. The case count stayed above 300 for five days in a row, a level that had not been seen since August, according to the Korea Disease Prevention and Control Agency (KDCA).
Authorities have said that the numbers tend to decline on weekends due to reduced testing.
The government further strengthened distancing rules for the capital Seoul and nearby regions on Sunday, closing bars and nightclubs, limiting religious gatherings and restricting on-site dining at restaurants starting Tuesday.
The decision was made less than a week after the guidelines tightened before the annual college entrance exams scheduled for December 3.
“If we cannot sever the links of infections, our anti-virus efforts and our medical responses could become unsustainable,” Deputy Health Minister Kang Do-tae said at a meeting on Monday.
KDCA Director Jeong Eun-kyeong said he had secured 20 million doses of potential coronavirus vaccines, enough for 10 million people, through an international allocation platform called the COVAX facility. The agency aims to buy at least 60 million doses this year and was in final talks with global drug companies about the remaining 40 million, it said.
READ: South Korea’s third wave of COVID-19 may be bigger if not curbed, official says
Some experts have accused the authorities of failing to take stronger action earlier, even though the spikes in daily numbers and other benchmarks met conditions set by the government for tighter restrictions.
The Korean Society of Infectious Diseases, an important group of doctors, issued a statement on Friday, warning that infections could reach up to 1,000 per day in the coming weeks without effective measures, “overburdening the tracking system, creating a vicious cycle of additional infections and depleting medical resources. “
Kang did not directly respond to such criticism, but said he “regretted having to intensify the distancing again in just three days.”
“But preventative action was inevitable to prepare for next week’s college exam and prevent a major epidemic that would have a serious impact on our daily livelihoods and economy,” he said.
Many business owners expressed concern for their livelihoods, which have already been hit by a series of previous restrictions.
“Things have been pretty bad since we opened earlier this year, but now I’m seriously considering launching delivery services because you never know when it will end,” said 37-year-old Kim Chang-hwan, who runs a small cafe in the east of Seoul. .
Hand sanitizers and stuffed toys are placed on tables and chairs while social distancing is maintained in central Seoul, South Korea, on Nov.18, 2020 (Photo: AP / Lee Jin-man).
“SUBSTANTIAL RISK”
Authorities were concerned that the latest wave could be more difficult to end because most infections occurred in the broader community around the Seoul metropolitan area, home to roughly half of the country’s 52 million people, unlike of the past, when large outbreaks emerged from specific groups.
Of the 271 new cases, 255 were transmitted locally, nearly 81 percent of which from the Seoul metropolitan area, while 16 were imported, according to the KDCA.
KDCA Director Jeong Eun-kyeong said that many recent cases had proven highly infectious, involving asymptomatic but more active youth.
“It is a substantial risk factor in terms of transmissibility because those in their 20s and 30s are much (more) exposed to restaurants, cafes, small gatherings, schools, private academies, etc.,” he said in a briefing, urging to nonessential meetings. and trips are canceled.
The city of Seoul said Monday that it will separately impose a ban on gatherings of 10 or more people and reduce nighttime public transportation to minimize citizen movements.
READ: South Korea starts a special anti-COVID-19 period before the university entrance exam
The city said it formed a team to step up anti-virus efforts ahead of the college exam, to which some 490,000 students from across the country have applied, including setting up nearly two dozen test sites for confirmed patients and those in quarantine.
South Korea has been called a coronavirus success story for tackling the first major epidemic outside of China without major disruption, thanks to an aggressive tracking, testing and quarantine campaign.
But it continues to grapple with persistent infections in clusters of offices, nursing homes and small gatherings, prompting authorities to declare last week that the country was battling a third wave of infections.
Total infections now stand at 31,004, with 509 deaths, KDCA data showed.
CHECK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
