The Critical Point to Curb the Spread of the Third Wave of COVID-19 This Week

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] As of midnight on the 24th, the number of new domestic COVID-19 cases recorded 985, falling below 1,000.

Among the 985 locally transmitted cases, 644 (65%) occurred in the Seoul metropolitan area, showing signs of increasing spread centered around religious facilities and nursing homes.

According to Seoul City, the COVID-19 reproduction number (the average number of people infected by one confirmed case) in Seoul last week (13th?19th) averaged 1.18, slightly higher than the 1.16 average just before the implementation of social distancing level 2.5.

This is the first time Seoul’s reproduction number has exceeded 1 for seven consecutive weeks. During the outbreaks linked to Itaewon clubs in May and large-scale rallies in the metropolitan area in August, it only lasted for three consecutive weeks each.

According to recent data compiled by Seoul City on the incidence rate per 100,000 population, from the 1st to the 13th, among the 25 autonomous districts in Seoul, Jongno-gu (203.5), Gangseo-gu (198.5), and Jung-gu (191.1) had the highest number of confirmed cases. This was largely influenced by a sharp increase in cases due to cluster infections in restaurants, dance studios, and other facilities.

Despite this situation, Gangnam-gu recorded 151.3 confirmed cases per 100,000 population, ranking 12th, indicating relatively fewer cases. Despite being a region with high population density and a daily economic activity population of 1.07 million, making it vulnerable to cluster infections like New York City in the U.S., this remarkable result is attributed to the active cooperation of residents and the proactive testing conducted from the early stages of the outbreak.

Globally, as of the 23rd according to Worldometer, the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases surpassed 77.62 million, and according to the World Health Organization (WHO), it exceeded 76.85 million. Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Antarctica, previously considered the last pristine region.

For the first time, local transmission cases have appeared in Taiwan, which had no confirmed cases for the past eight months. The United States, with nearly 18 million cumulative cases, reported 210,000 new cases in the past week, showing no signs of slowing down. This equates to one confirmed case every 0.4 seconds.

With vaccination starting in countries urgently needing vaccines such as the UK and the U.S., the COVID-19 vaccine seems to be coming closer to us.

On the 24th, the government announced that it signed purchase agreements for COVID-19 vaccines with global pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Janssen. The contract with Pfizer covers 10 million doses, and with Janssen, 6 million doses, which is 2 million more than initially planned. Vaccinations with Janssen’s vaccine are scheduled to begin in the second quarter of next year.

It is somewhat reassuring that vaccines for ending COVID-19 are finally becoming a reality.

Below is the COVID-19 status in Gangnam-gu.

Confirmed Cases Status

This is the status of confirmed cases in Gangnam-gu. From the afternoon of the 23rd to the 24th, cases up to number 855 were confirmed. Cases 847 and 852 were confirmed after contact with cases from other regions, while cases 848, 849, and 855 were confirmed after exhibiting symptoms such as fever. Cases 850, 851, 853, and 854 were family members of previously confirmed Gangnam-gu residents and tested positive.

Self-Quarantine Status

As of the 24th, Gangnam-gu is managing 1,751 people in self-quarantine, of whom 1,045 are overseas arrivals and 706 are domestic contacts.

Number of Tests Conducted

The cumulative number of tests conducted at Gangnam-gu Public Health Center’s screening clinics and temporary screening centers is 128,460. On the 23rd, among 2,874 tested, 60 were overseas arrivals and 2,814 were domestic residents.

While South Korea and the world are on high alert over the spread of mutated COVID-19 variants, including temporarily suspending flights from the UK, experts predict that it is unlikely that this virus will be so lethal as to render vaccines ineffective. The WHO has also stated that control is possible, and global pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and AstraZeneca have begun tests to verify vaccine efficacy.

Regardless of expectations for vaccine effectiveness, I believe that currently the best measures are to strictly follow social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines and to conduct proactive testing to identify hidden infections.

In this regard, since the 16th, Gangnam-gu has been operating temporary screening centers near Exit 6 of Samseong Station (Yeongdong-daero 513) and Gaepo Digital Innovation Park (Gaepo-ro 416), completing 9,429 tests so far and identifying 28 confirmed cases.

Gangnam-gu also views this week as a critical turning point to curb the third wave of the outbreak and plans to operate temporary screening centers on Christmas Day and the weekend to allow anyone to get tested.

The Gangnam-gu Smart Infectious Disease Management Center operates from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and residents are urged to visit the Infectious Disease Management Center or temporary screening centers for testing if they experience any symptoms.

Meanwhile, under the government’s special year-end and New Year’s quarantine measures, from now until the 3rd of next month, all restaurants nationwide are prohibited from accepting reservations or allowing entry for groups of five or more.

Violators will face fines of up to 100,000 KRW for users and up to 3 million KRW for operators.

Gangnam-gu has formed a special inspection team of 304 members, including consumer food hygiene inspectors and the Gangnam-gu branch of the Korea Foodservice Industry Association, to conduct on-site inspections of 16,174 local businesses such as restaurants and cafes to ensure strict compliance with these administrative orders.

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