Three missing things in Daegu, coronavirus ground zero

Crowds gather on Monday to buy masks at a big market in Daegu where most confirmed coronavirus cases have been reported. Yonhap

By Oh Young-jin

Dr. Hakim Djaballah, former head of the Institute Pasteur Korea, raised three questions about how Korea is handling the current coronavirus epidemic, especially in Daegu that he compares to Wuhan in China's Hubei Province, the epicenter of the virus outbreak.

First, he pointed to photos of large crowds waiting for hours at big markets to buy masks in Daegu. “President Moon Jae-in's government tells people not to gather because of fear of contagion, yet long queues were formed meandering round big markets to buy masks, the very basic necessity for protection,” the American virologist told The Korea Times Thursday morning from New York where he is based.

Long queues of people wait to buy masks. Yonhap

He cited that as sign of incompetence that, if combined with a panicky situation, could get out of hand. “I would rather military there to calm people and distribute masks,” he said.

Djaballah was among the first to point out the possibility of mutation of the virus that caused the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), the outbreak that devastated Korea in 2015. Then, Korean authorities denied his claim but later admitted mutation took place.

He then strongly called for the independence of Korean epidemic control authorities but it is strongly indicated that they are still at the beck and call of the government, contributing to their ineffectiveness.

Djaballah is also impatient about the government's reluctance to use Gilead's remdesivir, which is seen as a possible treatment for the new coronavirus. The drug was developed to treat Ebola but proved ineffective. However, a coronavirus patient in the U.S. was administered it and he recovered.

Now, the compound of the drug has been manufactured by a Chinese company and clinical tests are expected to be finished by April. Djaballah said it could be too late by then. Instead, he proposed that the Korean government should use it because it has undergone clinical tests that proved it caused little harm to people.

“Use it and slow it down,” he said about the experimental drug. “So the authorities may buy time to put new plans in place.”

President Moon Jae-in tours Daegu in a mask Tuesday. Yonhap

Thirdly, he wondered why he has not seen volunteers.

“The Daegu medical infrastructure is under great stress,” he said. “They may be as exhausted as those in Wuhan. You can't let them hang out to dry”

Disclaimer: I have called officials of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) but have not received answers. I left questions in text messages and I intend to update this article when I gain responses from them or acquire contradicting information.