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SEOUL: Asymptomatic COVID-19 patients are driving a surge in new cases in South Korea, thwarting efforts to control transmission by the Asian country, which has managed to keep infections under control in previous outbreaks.
South Korea reported 569 new cases in the 24 hours that ended Thursday (November 26) at midnight, a level not seen in nearly nine months, as it grapples with the third wave of the pandemic that appears to be worsening despite the tough new social distancing measures.
With young people at the center of the increase, South Korean health authorities estimate that asymptomatic patients now account for 40 percent of all infections, a sharp increase from 20 to 30 percent in June.
That compares with research evidence suggesting that about one in five infected people overall will not experience symptoms.
The rate is much lower in China, where the state disease control center said in February that about 1 percent of the more than 70,000 cases it analyzed were asymptomatic. In Tokyo, about 19 percent of patients are asymptomatic.
It is not clear why some patients who test positive for the virus do not show any symptoms, but health officials believe they pose fewer risks of transmission. However, the people they infect may have symptoms.
Additionally, officials are concerned about an increase in untraceable groups, as these asymptomatic infections are more difficult to identify.
Cold weather is further accelerating the spread as more gatherings and activities take place indoors in places with poor ventilation, while the risk of inadvertent infections from asymptomatic patients has increased.
That poses a big challenge in South Korea, which has managed to keep infections low in previous outbreaks through aggressive contact tracing.
This week he has introduced stricter social distancing measures to contain transmission and encouraged people to get tested.
“We should have maintained tough social distancing measures longer,” said Kim Woo-joo, professor of Infectious Diseases at Korea University Guro Hospital.
READ: South Korea’s third wave of COVID-19 may be bigger if not curbed, official says
“Following the easing of social distancing measures in early October, many people, especially young people, lowered their guard, and many of those with very mild symptoms or no symptoms have gone unnoticed.”
As young people drive the surge in new cases, the number of young patients in serious condition who need ventilators has also skyrocketed to 19 this week in South Korea to nearly a quarter of the total number of patients in need of respiratory assistance.
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