'1,000 Koreans vs. 2,800 Japanese' President Moon Praises 'K-Quarantine'?What Do You Think? [Han Seung-gon's Political Notebook]

Moon: "Global death toll exceeds 1.7 million"
"We responded relatively well"
"Our daily average cases in the 1,000s... Japan 2,800"
"I pay respect and thanks to the people. Please take pride"

President Moon Jae-in

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] As the number of new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) continues to hover around 1,000 daily, controversy has arisen following remarks by President Moon Jae-in suggesting that this number is not high compared to the average daily confirmed cases in other countries. Critics question the meaning of comparing the situation with countries like Japan amid the severe spread of COVID-19.

On the 28th, during a meeting with senior secretaries and advisors at the Blue House, President Moon stated, "While we record an average of around 1,000 confirmed cases daily, the United States records 230,000, the United Kingdom 33,000, Germany 25,000, and Japan 2,800. This is an achievement that the people have accomplished together. I extend my respect and gratitude to the citizens. Please take pride in this."

He continued, "Even as the global death toll exceeds 1.7 million, we have responded relatively well," adding, "The '3T' of K-quarantine?Test, Tracing, Treat?has already become the global standard. Public participation is the true success factor of K-quarantine."

However, the current situation is far from easy to take pride in regarding effective quarantine. In early November, the daily new confirmed cases remained around 100. But by November 26, the number rose to the 500s, and in December, it fluctuated around 1,000.

This is why, based on the number of new confirmed cases in other countries, South Korea cannot be considered to be managing quarantine well. Additionally, at the Seoul Eastern Detention Center, over 540 confirmed cases have emerged, creating a situation where mass infections could occur anytime and anywhere.

At that time, Park Neung-hoo, the first head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, stated during a meeting at the Government Seoul Office, "Today (the 26th), the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases exceeded 500. It has been 18 days since it surpassed 100 on November 8, and about eight months since recording 518 cases on March 6."

He especially expressed concern, saying, "The spread of infection among young people is serious; the proportion of infected individuals in their 20s and 30s has increased to 28% in just one month," and "There are 19 young critical patients requiring ventilators."

On the 28th, citizens are seen lining up and waiting to get tested at the COVID-19 Jung-gu Temporary Screening Clinic set up at Seoul Station Plaza. [Image source=Yonhap News]

These concerns soon became reality. As of the 8th, the number of new COVID-19 confirmed cases recorded three consecutive days in the 1,000s. Cases of death while waiting for hospitalization or transfer to other hospitals due to a shortage of beds have also been occurring.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters released explanatory materials stating, "Since the start of the domestic COVID-19 outbreak in January, three patients died at home while waiting for hospital admission, and five patients died while waiting for transfer to isolation beds in nursing hospitals." The deaths during the first wave centered in Daegu and Gyeongbuk in February and March, and the remaining six deaths occurred in December.

Despite this situation, there are concerns about the president's perception of "taking pride" based on the average daily confirmed cases compared to other countries.

Kim, a company employee in his 40s, said, "Isn't the COVID-19 situation an emergency now? Is it good just because the number of new confirmed cases is lower than in other countries? Shouldn't we be reassured only when there are no confirmed cases at all?"

Another office worker in his 30s, Lee, questioned, "If we are doing well in quarantine compared to other countries, should we understand that our quarantine is poor compared to countries that are doing better than us?" He added, "Recently, wasn't there a mass infection in the detention center? It's frustrating."

Meanwhile, amid the ongoing severe third wave of COVID-19 in South Korea, the number of new confirmed cases again rose to the 1,000s today (the 29th). The number significantly increased compared to the previous day (the 28th), surpassing 1,000 again for the first time in three days since the 26th (1,132 cases). The large number of additional confirmed cases?233?in the Seoul Eastern Detention Center, where a mass infection occurred, had a significant impact.

In this situation, with the UK-origin 'variant virus' known to have 1.7 times higher transmissibility entering the country, concerns about the possibility of community transmission are growing, and quarantine authorities are striving to devise countermeasures.

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