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The corona situation in the US, where the number of confirmed cases has decreased significantly as the corona vaccination began, is getting worse again. Although mutant viruses are spreading, the number of new confirmed cases is increasing again as more states are easing quarantine guidelines.
Correspondent Kim Jong-won delivered news from New York.
<Reporter> The
number of new coronavirus cases in the US, which was drawing a sharp downward curve, has recently started to increase again.
The average number of confirmed cases per day in the past week exceeded 60,000, an increase of 11% compared to the previous week.
Some experts cite the spread of the mutant virus, which is more contagious and fatal, as a reason for the increasing number of cases, warning that the UK and South African mutant virus could trigger another pandemic in the future.
However, some point out that loosened quarantine guidelines are a bigger problem than mutant viruses.
[Anthony Pouch/Director of Allergy and Infectious Disease Research Institute, National Medical Center: (The recent spread) is not just because of mutated viruses. This is because the number of travelers has increased due to spring break, and some states are easing quarantine guidelines.]
Dr. Pouch, an epidemic expert, said that if the number of confirmed cases continues to increase, it could lead to a tertiary pandemic as in Europe. He stressed that it is necessary to maintain it at the level of 3 million or more.
Meanwhile, the European Union has announced that it will introduce a so-called'vaccine passport' system that records the types of vaccines received and the presence of antibodies from this June.