Do you know what’s scarier than getting told you’ve tested positive for the coronavirus?
Testing positive for the coronavirus… again.
Just when you thought that you’ve successfully battled the virus and emerged victoriously, it comes back to bite you again.
This was the case for 116 patients this week:
South Korea Now Has 116 Patients Who Are Infected With Coronavirus Again
South Korea on Monday reported that as many as 116 people who had initially recovered from the coronavirus and tested negative, had tested positive yet again.
However, officials suggested that they would look at easing strict recommendations that are targeted at preventing new outbreaks.
South Korea reported only 25 new cases overall on Monday, however, the increase in “reactivated” patients had made many worried.
Like any other country all over the world, South Korea is hoping to be completely free of the coronavirus.
One Official Said The Virus Was Reactivated
The authorities are reportedly still investigating why some coronavirus patients have relapsed.
However, Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), has said the virus may have been reactivated rather than the patients being re-infected.
That may be scarier than if you actually get reinfected by someone else because you won’t know if you’ve fully recovered from the virus or not.
However, other experts suggest that this could be due to “faulty tests” or the fact that remnants of the virus might still be in the coronavirus patients’ systems.
However, in the latter, the virus may no longer be infectious or of danger to the host or others.
Do note that these are just speculations as investigations are still underway. We essentially still do not know everything about the coronavirus.
More Relapsed Coronavirus Cases
There were 116 relapsed coronavirus patients this week, which is more than double the 51 relapsed cases that South Korea had reported a week before.
This is undoubtedly a cause for concern, so let’s hope that the authorities get to the bottom of this asap.
On a more positive note, South Korea has plans to ship 600,000 coronavirus testing kits to the United States on Tuesday.
This is the first shipment after US President Donald Trump had made a request, according to a Seoul official on Monday.
Government leaders, on the other hand, asked that South Korans continue to abide by the guidelines and restrictions on social gatherings.
Loosening Guidelines & Measures
However, there has been talk that these guidelines would soon be lifted.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said at a meeting on disaster management that the government would soon be loosening the guidelines which ask for people to stay at home, avoid all social gatherings and only go out for essential reasons.
Pretty much just like the circuit breaker measures that have been implemented in Singapore.
But although Singaporeans still have a couple more weeks to go, South Koreans might see these measures ease up soon.
“Later this week, we plan to review our intensive social distancing campaign that we have carried out so far and discuss whether we will switch to routine safety measures” he said.
However, Mr Chung warned that although some restrictions might be eased, things will not be exactly the same as it was before the outbreak.