Government officially announces COVID-19 resurgence

The Korean government officially confirmed that the country is currently under a new wave of COVID-19, with the virus gaining momentum once again. The health authorities will announce disease control measures next Wednesday to respond to the resurgence. The authorities are first considering an extension of a mandate for confirmed cases to be treated under quarantine until this wave of the pandemic subsides, which was extended earlier for four weeks until mid-July. “COVID-19 is going widespread once again. This is the moment for everyone to stay vigilant,” said Second Vice Minister Lee Ki-il in the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting at the Seoul Government Complex on Friday, adding, “We will soon come up with measures against the resurgence during the summer season and explain to our people next week.”

The number of confirmed cases in Korea marked 19,323 on Friday, up 812 from the previous day. The figure rose on Friday, the day the number goes down in general. The average number of daily confirmed cases for the recent seven days amounted to 15,277, an 86.5 percent increase from the previous seven days. The reproduction number, indicating the number of additional infections per patient, exceeded 1 last week and reached 1.05 this week.

The government is searching for ways to rein in the resurgence of the virus. It is considering negative sentiments about bringing back social distancing rules, including the outdoor mask mandate, due to economic damages. “The outdoor mask mandate will not help right now as 70 percent of people are still wearing masks outside,” explained a source in the government.


noel@donga.com · ksy@donga.com