Jeong Eun-kyung "If infection links are not broken, large-scale outbreak possible"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The quarantine authorities have expressed concerns that the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), which is spreading continuously centered around the Seoul metropolitan area, could escalate into a large-scale epidemic.

Jung Eun-kyung, head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH), said at a regular briefing held on the afternoon of the 10th at the Osong Disease Control Headquarters in Chungbuk, "Recently, continuous cluster infections have been spreading mainly in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area," adding, "If this chain of transmission is not broken, a large-scale epidemic cannot be ruled out in this cautious situation."

Head Jung expressed concerns about the sequentially spreading 'n-th transmission,' explaining, "The incubation period of COVID-19 is about 4 days, and the generation time?the period from one patient’s onset to the next patient’s onset?is about 3 days. If contacts are not found and isolated within this period, secondary and tertiary transmissions will occur."

He continued, "The authorities are extensively identifying, testing, and isolating contacts to block further transmission and catch up with the speed of spread, but the recognition of patients is delayed, leading to continued cluster outbreaks," urging, "If you have even the slightest symptoms, please stop work immediately and get tested promptly."

According to the CDCH, the cluster infection related to the health product door-to-door sales company 'Richway' in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, has spread to the Chinese-Korean church, NBS Partners, SJ Investment Company call center, and others, increasing the cumulative confirmed cases to 93 as of noon today. Additionally, three more confirmed cases related to a table tennis center in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, were added, bringing the total to 54.

Head Jung said, "Please maintain your health by managing chronic disease treatment through regular medical consultations such as telephone consultations, exercising at home with calisthenics, and regularly walking or taking strolls during less crowded times and places."

Head Jung predicted that the global COVID-19 epidemic situation is worsening and that the infectious disease outbreak will be prolonged.

He explained that the total confirmed cases worldwide have already exceeded 7.1 million, with cumulative deaths surpassing 400,000. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), the number of new confirmed cases reached about 130,000 on the 8th of this month, marking a record high.

Head Jung said, "Many countries are easing 'social distancing' or 'social lockdowns,' leading to a resurgence of the epidemic," adding, "In South Korea, as we transition to 'everyday distancing' (daily quarantine), cluster outbreaks continue mainly in the metropolitan area, making us realize once again how difficult it is to establish and institutionalize quarantine rules in daily life."

He added, "It is difficult to end COVID-19 in a short period before a vaccine is introduced," and "The goal of the quarantine authorities is to suppress the scale and speed of the outbreak to a manageable level for our medical, quarantine, and social systems through social distancing and compliance with personal quarantine rules until fundamental solutions such as vaccines are developed."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.