COVID-19 Patients Reaching 10,000 Takes Two and a Half Months Instead of Five Months

Cumulative Confirmed Cases Exceed 30,000
Severe 'Super Spreader' in Specific Group
Three Consecutive Days with 300+ Cases
More Critical Than Feb-Mar Outbreak

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] The cumulative number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in South Korea surpassed 30,000 on the 20th. It has been exactly 305 days, or ten months, since a Chinese woman arriving at Incheon Airport in late January tested positive. The problem is that the recent trend of patient increase is steepening. This is due to the spread of routine group infections across the country, and as the winter season approaches, the spread is becoming increasingly difficult to control, just as the quarantine authorities had feared.

It took five months to increase by 10,000 → now two months and a half

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of 0:00 a.m. on this day, 363 new patients were added, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 30,017. Among them, 320 patients are presumed to be infected through community transmission, the highest since the church and rally-related outbreak in late August. For three consecutive days, the number of domestic cases has remained in the 300s, and the scale of local infections is growing. Three people died the previous day, raising the total death toll to 501.

In February, health officials from Nam-gu Public Health Center in Daegu were conducting disinfection near the Shincheonji Daegu Church in Daemyeong-dong, Nam-gu, Daegu.

The quarantine authorities view the recent trend of confirmed cases as standing at a crossroads of a 'third large-scale outbreak,' but comparing the current trend with the past shows that the speed of increase has clearly accelerated. After the first confirmed case was identified in South Korea on January 20, it took 74 days for the cumulative number of patients to exceed 10,000. During the first month, the number increased by about one person per day, but from late February, a large-scale group outbreak centered on Shincheonji Church members in Daegu and Gyeongbuk was discovered, resulting in hundreds of patients daily from late February to mid-March. Subsequently, various group outbreaks such as the Guro Call Center occurred, and on April 3, the cumulative number of confirmed cases in the country exceeded 10,000.

The cumulative confirmed cases surpassed 20,000 on September 1. It took 151 days to increase from 10,000 to 20,000. Group outbreaks centered in the metropolitan area, such as clubs and logistics centers, occurred, but except for the metropolitan church and downtown rally-related outbreak in mid-August, no group outbreak exceeded 100 patients during this period. After that, it took 80 days for another 10,000 patients to occur. Previously, it took about five months to increase by 10,000, but now it has been shortened to about two months and a half.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is delivering a public appeal regarding the novel coronavirus infection on the 20th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

The reason for judging the current situation as more critical than the February-March outbreak

The reason the recent situation is seen as more serious than before is that the spread is severe despite strengthened quarantine rules. Simply looking at the speed of increase, the outbreak in February-March linked to Shincheonji was faster, but at that time, the surge in patients occurred when awareness of quarantine rules such as mask-wearing and social distancing?now considered common sense?was significantly low, and a 'super-spreader' event occurred within a specific group. The Shincheonji group infection is estimated to have spread vigorously throughout the local community over two to four weeks through dense gatherings before the index patient was identified.

However, despite measures taken afterward to prevent the spread of infection, the increase has not been suppressed. Rules such as social distancing and mask-wearing have been strengthened with penalties such as fines for violations, and citizens generally comply well with hygiene rules. Nevertheless, the links of infection are not being cut in time. This is why the current phase is viewed as a crisis compared to the Shincheonji outbreak or the second wave that spread nationwide through rallies.

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