Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Coronavirus from relapse cases not infectious: authorities
A colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (red) infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (yellow), also known as novel coronavirus, isolated from a patient sample. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility in Fort Detrick, Maryland. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH via Reuters
By Jung Min-ho
By Jung Min-ho
Patients who tested positive for the new coronavirus after recovering from their first bout of the disease do not infect other people, health authorities said Monday.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said it will not apply 14-day self-quarantine rules to such patients after concluding that the virus detected from relapse cases does not make other people sick.
“There have been no secondary infections from people who were in close contact with such patients,” Yoon Tae-ho, a senior health ministry official, told reporters. “Also, the results from culture tests back up the conclusion.”
So far, officials have confirmed 447 relapse cases, about 4.5 percent of all infection cases.