Should We Wear Masks Again? Signs of 'COVID-19' Resurgence

[Financial News] As COVID-19 has recently resurged in neighboring countries such as Hong Kong and China, the quarantine authorities have begun to continuously monitor domestic and international trends.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced in a regular briefing on the 26th that it is continuously monitoring the domestic situation following the increase in COVID-19 patients in the Asia region.

Ko Jae-young, spokesperson for KDCA, said, "There is no need to be excessively anxious about COVID-19, but at the same time, no one should be completely at ease," adding, "Please consider it similar to the flu, which tends to spread once or twice a year."

He further stated, "Just like last year, there could be a COVID-19 outbreak this summer, so please adhere to preventive measures if you notice patients around you," while also emphasizing, "Those aged 65 and over, or those with cancer or chronic diseases, should be more aware of the risks than the general public."

He stressed that vaccination is the most certain way to prevent COVID-19.

Currently, high-risk groups for COVID-19, such as seniors aged 65 and over, immunocompromised individuals aged 6 months and older, and residents and patients in infection-prone facilities, can receive free vaccinations until the 30th of next month.

Hong Jeong-ik, Director of the Infectious Disease Policy Bureau at KDCA, said, "Last year, countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan saw an increase in patients about 1 to 2 months before our country, and we are closely monitoring this Asian outbreak as well," adding, "Given the frequent international exchanges, we are preparing for the possibility of an increase in our country as well."

According to KDCA, the number of COVID-19 inpatients at 221 sample surveillance medical institutions at the hospital level nationwide in the 20th week of this year (May 11-17) was 100, down from 146 the previous week. The number of COVID-19 inpatients has been fluctuating slightly over the past 4 weeks, maintaining a similar level.

Meanwhile, unlike the decrease in the number of inpatients, the detection rate of the COVID-19 virus is on the rise.

The detection rate of the COVID-19 virus in the 'National Respiratory Virus Pathogen Integrated Surveillance System', which collects and analyzes samples from individuals with respiratory symptoms, recorded 8.6% in the 20th week. The detection rate of the COVID-19 virus had been decreasing from 13.1% in the 13th week of this year to 2.8% in the 19th week, but increased by 5.8 percentage points in the 20th week.

hsg@fnnews.com Han Seung-gon Reporter