Spike In Patients, South Korea Worries About A Third Wave Of COVID-19

Illustration of South Korean citizens (doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Positive cases of COVID-19 are reported to continue to increase, in South Korea. The country of Ginseng is now overshadowed by the third wave of the spread of the Corona virus.

Even earlier, South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun called for all social gatherings planned to be held at the end of the year to be immediately canceled.

The government also urges all companies to encourage their employees to work from home. Meanwhile, especially for parents who are over 60 years old, it is recommended to stay at home.

"If we don't stop the spread of this (virus) now, normal life will be restricted again," he told a meeting on handling COVID-19.

Based on data from the South Korea Disease Prevention and Prevention Agency (KDCA), there have been 386 new positive cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. The total number of positive patients in South Korea also reached 30,403 people and 503 of them died.

This means that in four consecutive days, South Korea reported daily cases above the figure of 300.This figure is the largest number of infections since August 2020.

"We are at a critical time. If we fail to control the outbreak, then we will face a spread of the virus across the region that could surpass the cases in the previous two waves," KDCA senior official Lim Sook-young said at a news conference.

Lim said local health authorities are likely to tighten social restrictions soon. It predicts daily cases in the next week will reach 400 people and could exceed 600 per day in early December if the current transmission rate is not reduced.

On that occasion, Lim asked young people in South Korea not to attend meetings or other gatherings and to immediately get checked out. The reason is, many new cases were found in tutoring participants and students.

The South Korean government itself has tightened its health protocols in the country. But there is growing concern that the closure of bars, nightclubs, sports facilities and restrictions on religious activities may not be enough to keep the infection rate down.

On the other hand, South Korea is currently negotiating to secure supplies of the COVID-19 vaccine for 30 million people or 60 percent of its total population. According to the plan, vaccines for 10 million people will be obtained from the world's COVID-19 vaccine procurement facility (COVAX Facility), Lim said.