Jung Eun-kyung: "Second Wave in the Capital Area... Must Prepare for a Prolonged Battle"

"The Initial Prediction That Summer Trends Would Decline Was Wrong"

Jung Eun-kyung, Head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Juhyung] The quarantine authorities announced that the spread of COVID-19 cluster infections in the Seoul metropolitan area is in the "second wave."

Jung Eun-kyung, head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH), said at a regular briefing held on the 22nd at the Osong Disease Control Headquarters in Chungbuk, "In the Seoul metropolitan area, the first wave occurred from February to April, then cases decreased significantly for a while, but the outbreak was triggered again during the May holidays."

She continued, "If an explosive outbreak that overwhelms the medical system is called a 'pandemic,' this is not such a pandemic, but the second wave of community infections is ongoing," adding, "Such outbreaks will repeat."

She expressed concern, saying, "Since the virus cannot survive for long in high-temperature environments, it was initially expected that transmissibility would decrease in summer, but COVID-19 will not weaken at all during the summer. Indoor temperatures are maintained at a certain level through air conditioning, allowing continuous transmission through close contact between people. Moreover, since this is a novel infectious disease, our people do not have immunity against it, making infection easy upon exposure to the virus."

Head Jung emphasized, "The predictions that outbreaks would decrease in summer were incorrect. We must prepare for a prolonged battle. Since the scale of outbreaks may increase in autumn and winter, preparations such as securing hospital beds are ongoing."

The quarantine authorities especially expressed concern about infection risks during the vacation season in July and August and urged the public to remain vigilant.

Head Jung stated, "Until vaccines and treatments are available, our current goal is to minimize damage by controlling the scale and speed of outbreaks to levels manageable by the medical, quarantine, and social systems," emphasizing, "We ask for personal quarantine measures such as 'hand washing' and 'wearing masks.'"

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