Say “South Korea” to someone two months ago and they’d go, “Oh, Patient 31 infected millions of people with the coronavirus.”
While Patient 31 didn’t infect millions of people, the country’s one of the first few in the world to announce an outbreak: back in late February, the city of Daegu was seen as the epicentre of the coronavirus and soon after, everyone wondered if the Land of Kimchi can bounce back after more cases were reported throughout the country.
But after “lockdowns” in some cities, lots of testing and tracing and also several raids by law enforcement officers to some Shincheonji church premises, the number of new infections dropped to single digits in late April.
This chart will show you how well the country has done:
As of time of writing, the country has 10,822 cases and 256 deaths.
And do note that unlike other countries, South Korea hasn’t exactly been on a full lockdown or Circuit Breaker or Movement Control Order or whatever name you want to call it—the country has been more of like what we used to be before the Circuit Breaker kicked in (only cities like Daegu were then forced to shut down).
On Wednesday, workers went back to their offices, museums and libraries reopened, and schools would start to reopen next week. People are still advised to follow social distancing measures, and events that require mass gathering, such as concerts, are still suspended.
Life looks to be back to normal (or a new normal) over in the country that brings us Song Joong-ki and Hyun Bin.
But this might change.
Man Went to 5 Nightclubs Before Being Tested Positive for COVID-19 in South Korea
A man who had been tested positive on 6 May 2020 has got the South Korea authorities worried.
He’s linked to 14 other confirmed cases and these people aren’t his co-workers or household members.
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The man had travelled out of his hometown in Yongin city with three friends. The 29-year-old had been to Gapyeong, Chuncheon and Hongcheon, but it was his visit to Itaewon in Seoul that would have serious repercussions.
He and one of his friends were in a total of five different nightclubs on one day: 1 May 2020.
Now, before you call him a Patient 31, hold your horses—the man didn’t know he was infected, and he wasn’t even a suspect.
Friend Also Infected
The man allegedly works in a software company, and had ended his nightclub-hoping at around 4:40am that day. He then went for dinner the next day, and has stayed home throughout after that before being admitted into a hospital.
His friend who had been with him to the nightclubs was tested positive, too, but he had exhibited no symptoms thus far.
The man’s close contacts had been cleared of the virus, while the close contacts in his company have been identified for testing.
As of now, 14 people could have been infected from him, and a total of 1,510 or more people have been to the nightclubs he’s been.
Only time will tell if South Korea would see a new wave of infections, and I guess you now understand why bars and pubs might have to remain closed for a longer period of time here in Singapore.
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