Xinhua News Agency, Seoul, December 13 (Reporter Lu Rui) According to the South Korean Central Epidemic Prevention and Measures Headquarters on the 13th, from 0:00 to 24:00 local time on the 12th, South Korea added 1,030 new confirmed cases of new crown, of which 1,002 local infections were reported.
This is the first time that the number of new cases in a single day has exceeded 1,000 since the outbreak of the epidemic in South Korea this year. South Korea's epidemic prevention and control lights up again.
"The biggest crisis" since the outbreak of the epidemic
Since late November, the number of new cases in South Korea has increased sharply, and clustered infections have occurred frequently in public places such as shops, saunas, restaurants, beauty salons, nursing homes, and sports facilities.
On December 12, a man wearing a mask walked past a poster to promote the fight against the epidemic in Seoul, South Korea. Xinhua News Agency/American
is different from the collective infection of the "Shincheon Church" in February and the collective infection of Itaewon nightclub in August. This round of epidemic in South Korea is mainly centered on the capital circle and accelerated its spread across the country. At the same time, the number of asymptomatic infections with young people as the main body has increased significantly, bringing considerable challenges to prevention and control work.
December 3, a candidate was in the south city of Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Lee Sang-ho)
South Korean Prime Minister Ding Se-jun admitted when presiding on the emergency epidemic prevention measures meeting on the 12th that is the "big biggest crisis" encountered since the outbreak of the epidemic, and we must race against time to fight the virus, and "the situation is very urgent" .
South Korea's Central Epidemic Prevention Countermeasures Headquarters believes that compared with the large-scale spread of the previous two epidemics, it will take longer to reach the turning point of this wave of epidemic, and it is difficult to predict when the turning point will arrive at at present.
On December 7, South Korean President Moon Jae-in was preparing to preside over the meeting at the Blue House in Seoul. Xinhua News Agency/American
South Korean President Moon Jae-in posted a message through social media on the 12th, expressing guilt about the spread of the epidemic. He instructed all administrative forces to mobilize to concentrate on responding to the epidemic, send troops, police, civil servants, etc. to participate in epidemiological investigations urgently, and demanded that the scope of screening be further expanded.
epidemic prevention level may be adjusted to the highest
In response to the sharp rebound of the epidemic, the South Korean government has raised the epidemic prevention level many times, but the results are not as good as expected.
On December 6, in Gaoyang, South Korea, there were few pedestrians on a commercial street. Xinhua News Agency/American
In November, the South Korean government made comprehensive adjustments to the classification standards and implementation plans for social distancing measures, and the epidemic prevention levels were divided into level 1, level 1.5, level 2, level 2.5 and level 3 from low to high. According to the classification standards, if the average daily number of new infections reaches 800 to 1,000 within a week, or the number of new cases doubles in a single day, it can be upgraded to the highest level.
Since December 8, the epidemic prevention level in the metropolitan area has been increased from level 2 to level 2.5, and non-metropolitan area has been increased from level 1.5 to level 2.
Ding Shijun said on the 12th that if the epidemic cannot be curbed, the government will have to upgrade the epidemic prevention level to level 3. According to media disclosures, the government is collecting opinions and conducting internal discussions on whether to raise the level.
On December 12, medical staff worked at a new coronavirus testing center in Seoul, South Korea. After Xinhua News Agency/Metropolitan
is raised to the highest epidemic prevention level, more than 10 people will be prohibited from gatherings, all sports competitions will be suspended, cinemas will be suspended, schools will adopt remote teaching, and all companies will work from home except necessary personnel to minimize all face-to-face contact.
Seoul acting mayor Xu Zhengxie said on the 7th that the third-level epidemic prevention measures are actually close to the level of "lockdown" and are the "last fortress" on the fight against the epidemic.
On December 8, a woman wearing a mask went shopping in Myeongdong , Seoul, South Korea. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Jingqiang
Korean experts generally believe that it is necessary and urgent to raise the epidemic prevention level in the metropolitan area to the highest level at this time. The government urgently needs to take preemptive measures. can further tighten epidemic prevention guidelines to reverse the situation. Otherwise, it is not ruled out that South Korea will also suffer from severe epidemics in places such as Europe and North America.
However, some analysts believe that the further improvement of the epidemic prevention level will inevitably bring huge economic losses to the society. How to weigh epidemic prevention and economy is a topic that the epidemic prevention department needs to consider urgently.
vaccination is still in the future
South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 8th that it has ordered 34 million doses of the new crown vaccine from several overseas pharmaceutical companies, and at the same time, it has ensured 10 million doses of the new crown vaccine through the COVID-19 vaccine protection mechanism (COVAX), so that about 88% of the country’s population can be vaccinated.
This is an empty queue passage taken at Gyeongbok Palace, Seoul, South Korea on December 7. Xinhua News Agency/American
According to Korean media reports, vulnerable groups such as the elderly, chronic disease patients, as well as social essential service personnel such as medical personnel, police, and soldiers will be given priority to vaccination. Due to the lack of clinical data, children and adolescents are not included in the vaccination subjects. It is expected that from February to March 2021, South Korea will introduce vaccines in batches and start vaccination, but the first type of vaccine is introduced and the specific vaccination time has not been determined.
On December 7, in Ulsan, South Korea, medical staff sent a new crown patient to an ambulance. Xinhua News Agency/American
Health and Welfare Minister Park Linghou said that the vaccine development process has not yet ended, and various concerns about its safety and preventive effects still exist. The government will flexibly decide the vaccination time based on the epidemic situation, foreign vaccination trends, side effects, and people's vaccination needs.
Career and tourism industry is no longer lively
8 On the same day South Korea raised its epidemic prevention level, the reporter saw on the streets of Seoul that cafes of all sizes have put away the chairs in the store, leaving only the tables. The door was also posted with instructions: "According to the government's increase in the epidemic prevention level, our store can only pack and takeout, and dine-in is prohibited."
Although the restaurant is allowed to open until 9 pm, due to the rapid spread of the epidemic, the number of people dining in the dining area has also decreased significantly compared to the past. Restaurants that often require long queues during lunch hours on weekdays are now empty at any time.
reporter learned that in order to reduce the risk of infection, many Korean companies have begun to require employees to eat food in the company and try to avoid dine in.
On December 8, in Myeongdong, Seoul, South Korea, pedestrians wearing masks passed by a discount store. Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Jingqiang photographed
The Mingdong business district, which is most frequently visited by foreign tourists, has long disappeared from the bustling and noisy of the past, and has been replaced by a depression. Many stores chose to close their businesses, and the rest showed off advertising slogans for discount promotions.
On December 8, a clerk wearing a mask looked out the door at a cosmetics store in Myeongdong, Seoul, South Korea. Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Jingqiang photographed
The once overcrowded foreign currency exchange office is deserted. The boss told reporters that since there are no tourists, there is no RMB to convert from foreign currency exchange offices in Myeongdong. (Editor: Cheng Dayu, Jin Zheng, Wang Fengfeng)
