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SEOUL: Thousands of doctors-in-training in South Korea returned to work on Tuesday (Sept. 8) after ending a more than two-week strike as the country continued to post triple-digit increases in daily new coronavirus infections.
The Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 136 new cases as of midnight Monday, after the rate fell to a three-week low from 119 a day earlier. The total infections amounted to 21,432, with 341 deaths.
The daily count has steadily declined since it peaked at 441 last month after the government imposed unprecedented social distancing rules to mitigate a second wave of church outbursts and political demonstrations.
READ: Comment: South Korea had COVID-19 under control. And then August passed
Efforts to curb the latest epidemic have been complicated by the strike launched on August 21 by some 16,000 interns and residents against the government’s medical reform proposals.
Doctors-in-training resumed work after agreeing to end the strike on Monday, although many medical students continued to resist final licensure exams as part of the protest.
Interns and residents are the backbone of health care services in emergency rooms and intensive care units, and hospitals are increasingly facing delays and disruptions amid the steady growth of COVID-19 patients. .
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Authorities are weighing the possibility of extending social distancing restrictions ahead of Chuseok, one of the country’s biggest holidays this month, in which tens of millions of people would travel across the country.
President Moon Jae-in said daily numbers are expected to drop below 100 by the holiday, although health officials have urged no visits and meetings.
The restrictions, including limiting the operation of restaurants at the venue after 9 p.m. in the Seoul metropolitan area, were extended for another week until September 13.
The city of Seoul on Tuesday imposed an entry ban on some of the largest parks along the Han River, which has seen an increase in the number of night visitors since the restrictions went into effect. Cafes, convenience stores and parking lots at the 11 riverside parks will be closed after 9pm.
“If you don’t keep your distance without wearing a mask properly for a long time, the risk of infection increases a lot even when you are outside,” KCDC deputy director Kwon Jun-wook said in a briefing.
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