Koreans should stay alert to overcome final COVID-19 hurdle
Starting Moday, Koreans don't have to wear masks outdoors. Under the eased rule, individuals at outdoor gatherings of 50 or more people, sporting events and concerts will not be required to wear masks. This is the first time in about two years that the government wholly lifted the outdoor mask mandate. However, quarantine authorities have decided to maintain the indoor mask mandate for the time being, considering a possible COVID-19 resurgence in the winter and an increase in the number of seasonal influenza patients.
Announcing the eased mask mandate last Friday, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said, "We are clearly over the hump of the COVID-19 resurgence." Han's remarks reflect the quarantine authorities' belief that the pandemic has entered a calming down phase. The government's antibody positive rate survey results also back up this belief. About 97 percent of 9,901 citizens examined by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) were found to have antibodies either through vaccination (40 percent) or natural infection (57 percent).
However, it's still too soon to feel relieved. Antibodies last six to eight months at most. Experts point out that herd immunity is almost impossible to attain, given the increasingly weak defense. Koreans can ill afford to neglect efforts to prevent infection. Indeed various risk factors will remain. The flu, which had been quiet for the past two years, increased dramatically recently, exceeding the 2018 level and is approaching an "endemic" level.
COVID-19 is also likely to resurge in November when the antibody-positive rate drops sharply and spreads further in winter. Concerns are mounting over a possible "twindemic," in which, the flu and the coronavirus with similar initial symptoms occur simultaneously.
Health authorities should take preemptive measures by reorganizing the medical system. While relaxing COVID-19 rules according to circumstances, the government should be very careful not to send the wrong message, so people do not lower their vigilance and wariness.
Individuals should continuously abide by personal hygiene rules, such as hand washing, ventilation, and coughing etiquette. They should wear masks indoors and even outdoors, whenever possible, if they are in close proximity to others or in crowded places. If the public and private sectors work together to respond to COVID-19, the nation can overcome the pandemic's last obstacle without too much damage.
Starting Moday, Koreans don't have to wear masks outdoors. Under the eased rule, individuals at outdoor gatherings of 50 or more people, sporting events and concerts will not be required to wear masks. This is the first time in about two years that the government wholly lifted the outdoor mask mandate. However, quarantine authorities have decided to maintain the indoor mask mandate for the time being, considering a possible COVID-19 resurgence in the winter and an increase in the number of seasonal influenza patients.
Announcing the eased mask mandate last Friday, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said, "We are clearly over the hump of the COVID-19 resurgence." Han's remarks reflect the quarantine authorities' belief that the pandemic has entered a calming down phase. The government's antibody positive rate survey results also back up this belief. About 97 percent of 9,901 citizens examined by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) were found to have antibodies either through vaccination (40 percent) or natural infection (57 percent).
However, it's still too soon to feel relieved. Antibodies last six to eight months at most. Experts point out that herd immunity is almost impossible to attain, given the increasingly weak defense. Koreans can ill afford to neglect efforts to prevent infection. Indeed various risk factors will remain. The flu, which had been quiet for the past two years, increased dramatically recently, exceeding the 2018 level and is approaching an "endemic" level.
COVID-19 is also likely to resurge in November when the antibody-positive rate drops sharply and spreads further in winter. Concerns are mounting over a possible "twindemic," in which, the flu and the coronavirus with similar initial symptoms occur simultaneously.
Health authorities should take preemptive measures by reorganizing the medical system. While relaxing COVID-19 rules according to circumstances, the government should be very careful not to send the wrong message, so people do not lower their vigilance and wariness.
Individuals should continuously abide by personal hygiene rules, such as hand washing, ventilation, and coughing etiquette. They should wear masks indoors and even outdoors, whenever possible, if they are in close proximity to others or in crowded places. If the public and private sectors work together to respond to COVID-19, the nation can overcome the pandemic's last obstacle without too much damage.
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