South Korea has reported 231 additional confirmed cases of COVID 19 today taking the country's total to 833. Among them, 8 have died. 수원출장마사지
Against such surge, President Moon Jae-in yesterday raised the country's disease alert to the highest-possible level. 수원출장안마
"The government will raise the country's crisis alert level to the highest as recommended by infectious disease experts and strengthen the nation's overall response system."
With the country on red alert against COVID-19, the outbreak faces a grave turning point in this country with the next few days deemed absolutely critical. South Korea on COVID-19 Red: the topic of our News In-Depth tonight with Dr. Alice Hyun-kyung Tan, Internist at MizMedi Women's Hospital and our go-to medical contributor here at Arirang TV. 수원출장
Dr. Alice Tan, welcome to the program.
In the last couple of days, South Korea has seen an astonishing surge in the number of COVID-19 infected patients with more cases being confirmed in the hundreds everyday among them a few deaths, as well. What's worrisome is that although a little over 50-percent of the confirmed cases can be traced to one religious sect, we've been seeing independent cases pop up from all across the country. We've definitely entered a new phase, it seems. Have we?
Now, the last time South Korea has declared a "grave" disease alert, that's a red and the highest possible on its four-tier system, it was during the H1N1, influenza A outbreak back in 2009. What does this alert mean? How does it change the lives of the ordinary citizen like myself? 수원출장마사지
The South Korean government has put a number of special measures in place and we'll probably see more coming in the next few days. The education minister has extended winter vacation for all schools and kindergartens across the country by one week. She's also advised parents to keep their children away from hagwons, Korea's notorious private cram schools as well as PC bangs, the LAN gaming centers gaming is a huge part of the culture here. Judging from how effective the "grave" or red alert was during the 2009 H1N1 outbreak and based on your knowledge of COVID-19, do you think the measures put in place will be enough to contain the epidemic in this country? 수원출장안마
Dr. Alice, you and I were talking about the isolation psychiatric ward at Daenam Hospital in Cheongdo. Now, this is where the entire ward tested positive for COVID-19, all but three of the 1-hundred-and-two patients in the psychiatry ward. Epidemiologists believe the group contamination is due to the nature of this ward - a locked, isolated ward. While the rest of us have been focused on the 99 who have tested positive for COVID-19, you're interested in how the three escaped managed to stay coronavirus-free. Why is that so? Epidemiologically, what can this tell us?
How is South Korea doing with the testing of COVID-19? I believe there are roughly about 8-thousand being screened for COVID-19 and health authorities have said their maximum daily testing capacity is around 75-hundred to 8-thousand. So, they're running max. Test results come back within 6 hours. The problem is the testing kits return false negatives sometimes.
We've also seen enough cases of asymptomatic patients unknowingly passing on the virus. Incubation periods as long as 27 days have now been documented. How do we work with all these variables? 수원출장
We now have a 16 months old baby confirmed with COVID-19. Now, this is the baby girl whose parents tested positive a few days, but had tested negative. That was last week. Over the weekend, she's tested positive. How is that possible and she obviously cannot be self-quarantined. Will there be COVID-19 guidelines for pediatrics?
How do you expect the COVID-19 curve in South Korea to progress in the next few days and weeks? What do you believe will be the determining factor in containing this virus? What about globally? How likely is it that this will become an endemic?
In the meantime, what can the average person living in South Korea like myself do to protect myself and others from COVID-19? I mean, I think I know in my head, yes, stay calm and wash my hands, but I can't deny that I get nervous from time to time.
Dr. Alice Tan, many, many thanks for keeping us well-informed and always leaving us with a peace of mind. We appreciate it.