Xinhua News Agency in Seoul May 30 electricity News Analysis: South Korea whether to return to a small rebound in the Capital epidemic "of strict social distance"
Xinhua News Agency reporter Lu Rui
As the epidemic prevention and control situation stabilized, South Korea entered the “life epidemic prevention stage” on May 6th, removing restrictions on the use of various public facilities, and the citizens gradually returned to daily life. However, the recent incidents of small-scale collective infections in the capital circle have caused worries that the epidemic will rebound. However, the analysis generally believes that sporadic collective infections are expected during the "life epidemic prevention stage", and as long as strict anti-epidemic measures are strictly followed, South Korea should not return to the "social distance observance period", but the "social distance" can be strengthened in key areas "policy.
The metropolitan area welcomes the key two weeks of epidemic prevention and control
In late February, the Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do regions in South Korea were once the "severe disaster areas" due to the outbreak of large-scale mass infections related to a particular religious group, and the number of confirmed cases continued to increase substantially. Afterwards, the epidemic prevention department decisively adopted the policy of "early detection, early isolation, and early treatment", extensive virus testing, and the active participation of the people. The spread of the epidemic was quickly controlled, and the number of local cases achieved zero-day growth. The Korean government also announced 5 From the 6th of the month onwards, the whole country shifted to the "life epidemic prevention" mode in which daily life and epidemic prevention work are parallel.
However, the new crown epidemic has recently rebounded slightly. From midnight on May 1st to early morning on the 2nd, a 29-year-old Korean man went to many nightclubs in Itaewon, Seoul, resulting in a clustered infection. As of 12:00 on the 30th local time, the number of confirmed cases related to Itaewon nightclubs increased to 269.
At the same time, an employee working in an e-commerce logistics warehouse was diagnosed with the new crown on the 25th, resulting in a collective infection in the logistics warehouse. According to the statistics of the Central Ministry of Epidemic Prevention of Korea, as of 12:00 on the 30th, there have been 108 confirmed cases. In addition, the number of cases with unknown infection routes in the metropolitan area has also increased.
Zheng Yinjing, head of the Korea Department of Disease Management, reported at a regular press conference on the 29th that the newly infected cases in the past week were highly concentrated in the metropolitan areas such as Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province, accounting for 88.4% of new infections nationwide.
On the 30th, Quan Duyu, a copy minister of the Central Ministry of Epidemic Prevention, said that the metropolitan area is densely populated and should be given more attention. If the scale of infection continues to expand, it will affect the hospitals, religions and welfare facilities where vulnerable groups gather at any time. "The next two weeks will be an important gateway to control the spread of the epidemic in the metropolitan area, and we hope that citizens will consciously abide by the epidemic prevention code."
In response to this situation, the South Korean government has announced that it will suspend the opening of public facilities such as the Capital Circle museums and art galleries until June 14th. It also recommends that the Capital Circle Internet cafes, singing rooms, and cram schools also be closed for two weeks.
Small-scale incidental infections may be difficult to avoid
The number of diagnoses in the South Korean capital has climbed, and there have been many small-scale cluster infections, which makes people worry whether South Korea will usher in the second wave of outbreaks and spread. South Korean experts believe that after entering the "life epidemic prevention stage", incidental small-scale infections are inevitable. If the spreading trend can be slowed down and controlled within the scope of the epidemic prevention network, it is unlikely to form a second wave of large-scale infections.
Jin Gangli, the first chief coordinator of the Central Disaster Security Countermeasure Department, said at a press conference that there may be occasional small-scale cluster infections during the "life epidemic prevention stage". Citizens should accept such risks and do a good job in personal hygiene and Return to daily life while observing epidemic prevention regulations.
Li Hemin, a professor of detection medicine at Yonsei University Hospital in South Korea, believes that due to the high-intensity "maintain social distance" measures implemented by the government some time ago, the people have some feelings of fatigue, and their vigilance has been relaxed after entering the "life epidemic prevention stage", so it is necessary for the people Continue to strengthen epidemic prevention awareness and maintain a certain social distance.
However, Li Hermin also said that unlike nightclubs, logistics warehouse employees are fixed, and the epidemic situation is relatively easy to check. Its peak infection may have passed, and it may show sporadic small-scale infection and spread in the future.
According to local media, the warehouse did not strictly comply with the epidemic prevention regulations. The company did not immediately block the building and evacuate the employees after receiving a notification from the warehouse that the employees had been diagnosed, but let the employees continue to work. How to further clarify the responsibilities of the main body of epidemic prevention and the punishment system for violations of regulations is also a weak link in South Korean epidemic prevention work.
Quan Yiyu emphasized at a press conference on the 30th that there have been many mass infections recently in the metropolitan area, but there were no infections related to religious facilities or large hospitals in the early stage. As long as the prevention and control are effective, it should be able to fully contain the spread of the epidemic .
Some South Korean experts pointed out that although the epidemic prevention department denied returning to the "strict social security period", a series of suspension measures for public facilities in the metropolitan area actually played a role in adopting an enhanced version of the "life epidemic prevention" policy in the metropolitan area. Professor Jin Zhengji of the College of Pharmacy of Korea University believes that, given the frequent occurrence of collective infections in the "epidemic prevention stage of life," we should consider re-implementing strict "social distance" measures at least in the metropolitan area.