Government acknowledges COVID-19 resurge

The Korean government analyzed that the nation’s confirmed cases of COVID-19 are starting to resurge. The government has officially acknowledged the resurgence of the virus. Concerns are rising over so-called "triple distress," where new COVID variants and influenza are spreading in cold weather while the COVID confirmed cases are rising.

Public Health and Welfare Minister Cho Kyu-hong said during the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on Friday that there are signals of resurging COVID-19 after a plateau. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on the day that the new confirmed cases have increased by 11,189 to 35,924 from 24,735 a week ago. The number of confirmed cases on Friday breached the 30,000 mark for the first time since September 16 after hovering over the 20,000 range for about a month.

Experts believe that the 7th wave of the virus has already begun. Professor Jeong Jae-hoon from Gachon University College of Medicine said that the resurgence was already taking place but that the number of confirmed cases may not exceed that of the sixth wave as more people gained immunity against the virus through infection and vaccination. The number of daily confirmed cases peaked at nearly 180,000 during the sixth wave.


ksy@donga.com