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Korea at crossroads of nationwide epidemic, expands tighter restrictions to whole country
  • By Shim Hyun-tai
  • Published 2020.08.22 19:08
  • Updated 2020.08.24 11:39
  • comments 0

Korea’s new virus cases exceeded 300 for two consecutive days on Saturday, prompting officials to expand the Level Two social distancing regime from greater Seoul to the rest of the country to prevent a nationwide epidemic.

The country now stands at a crossroads of containing Covid-19 or letting it develop into explosive outbreaks like those in late February or early March. Cluster infections, traceable to a church in northern Seoul and a massive rally by its pastor in the heart of capital last weekend, have spread to all of the 17 metropolises and provinces with unknown transmissions surpassing 20 percent.

The nation reported 332 new virus cases -- 315 local infections and 17 foreign arrivals -- raising the cumulative caseload to 17,002 as of midnight Friday, the Korea Centers for Disaster Control and Prevention said. It was the first time in six months the daily cases rising above 300 for two days in a row

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it would expand the upgraded social distancing measure throughout the country from Sunday.

The government applied the stricter social distancing policy to the Seoul metro region on Wednesday, sensing signs of massive outbreaks. The Level Two social distancing scheme prohibits indoor meetings of 50 or more people and 100 or more outdoors. It can also force 12 high-risk types of facilities such as clubs, bars, and karaoke rooms to shut down temporarily.

“The cluster infections that began from Sarang Jeil Church and the rally held in Gwanghwamun Plaza on the National Liberation Day of Aug. 15 will begin to take shape in earnest from this weekend,” Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo said. “We are facing a risk of mass infections, like the one we experienced in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province because of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus.”

Park added that the government would decide whether to raise the social distancing to the highest Level Three based on how the nation fares during this weekend.

The highest anti-virus restrictions can be issued when the number of daily virus cases reaches a two-week average of 100-200 and the doubling of new Covid-19 cases occurs more than twice a week. The economic and social impact of the Level Three regime will be severe while gatherings of 10 or more people will be banned and in-person school classes would be suspended.

The KCDC reported that 796 people related to Sarang Jeil Church have tested positive as of midnight Friday. The virus outbreaks that started from this church are causing a chain of infections at all types of facilities, including not only smaller religious facilities and cafes but also workplaces and even large medical institutions. Besides, 104 people have been confirmed to have the virus, up 33 from the previous day, related to the anti-government protest in Gwanghwamun.

Some hospitals had to shut down part of their wards or stop providing medical services as confirmed cases emerged at their facilities.

The Asan Medical Center in southeastern Seoul, one of the nation’s Big-Five hospitals, closed its otolaryngology ward on Friday as a nurse working there tested positive. Cha University Bundang Medical Center also stopped their service as a 60-something inpatient was confirmed of infection on Saturday morning.

The police are considering investigating Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon and his Sarang Jeil Church concerning their alleged attempts to sabotage the quarantine efforts. The health authorities and the police visited the church on Thursday and tried to secure the list of its members but returned empty-handed in the face of vehement resistance from some church members.

Moreover, the church held a news conference, accusing the government of spreading Covid-19 throughout the nation.

While expressing complaints about some government and ruling party officials who described the church as the acts of terrorist groups, the church officials reiterated their claims that the Moon Jae-in administration was the main culprit of the Covid-19 crisis by failing to ban the entry by travelers from China, echoing the assertions of other anti-government conservative groups, including the striking doctors’ group.

The brazen-faced response from the church has resulted in more than 20 petitions on the Cheong Wa Dae website, calling for the harsh punishment of the pastor and his church for politicizing the pandemic and threatening the health and lives of innocent people.

The nation reported 17 imported cases, including four each from the Philippines and India, three from the U.S., two from Japan, and one each from Qatar, Egypt, Senegal and Ethiopia. Cases coming in from abroad rose back to double-digit numbers from mid-June for about a month.

Korea reported no additional death maintaining the total toll at 309. The fatality fell to 1.82 percent because of the recent sharp rise in new virus cases. The total number of people released from quarantine after full recovery stood at 14,168, up 49 from a day earlier. The country has carried out more than 1.77 million coronavirus tests since Jan. 3.

shim531@docdocdoc.co.kr

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