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| A bird's-eye view of Sejong Government Complex. Korea Times file |
By Lee Kyung-min
SEJONG ― The number of new COVID-19 infections in Sejong and nearby Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province soared over the weekend, with residents becoming increasingly concerned that the administrative city south of Seoul and its surroundings will no longer remain relatively insulated from the raging Omicron variant.
Many expressed anxiety that infections in the sparsely populated region will spread just as rapidly as in Seoul, with the fear of death and losing their elderly loved ones spreading faster.
"I have been in self-quarantine since I was confirmed last week," a government official said on condition of anonymity. "Those who came into contact with me at work including the ones who were in the same office as me rushed to get tested at my urging. I'm sorry because I feel like I caused them the trouble."
The official who works for one of the Sejong-based government ministries is one of over 650 newly infected people confirmed Saturday. Daejeon reported 3,110 new infections the same day, and South Chungcheong Province saw 3,348 new cases.
Data from Sejong City showed it registered 11,748 total confirmed cases as of Tuesday, with 5,485 undergoing treatment and 6,259 fully recovered. Four have died thus far.
Daejeon's total confirmed cases amounted to 53,491, according to the city government, with 36,942 currently in quarantine. A total of 216 have died.
South Chungcheong Province government data showed its total confirmed cases stood at 99,573, with 240 deaths and 28 people currently in critical condition.
The pace of increase is not as overwhelming as in Seoul which has been reporting over 20,000 per day, but the level of fear is just as gripping, according to Kim Ji-eun, 40, a resident of Sejong.
"I am less worried about myself than I am about my parents, given they are over 70," she said.
"If I get it, I can recover, I think. But my parents may not. I don't want to be the reason I lose my parents. Who would? It would be the worst thing in the world. It's just best not to get infected in the first place. It's just sheer luck at this point. No way to characterize it otherwise."
Korea reported 99,573 new confirmed cases on Tuesday, raising the cumulative number to over 2.1 million. The total number of deaths increased to 7,508, after 58 died a day earlier.
This according to Kim is a frightening figure.
"Just stop and think for a second. More than 7,000 have died, and more will," she said.
She fears that if her parents die due to COVID-19, they will be treated as no more than a statistic.
"The government tries to downplay the figures, saying the fatality rate is under 1 percent. However, to a person who experiences the death of a family member, the rate is 100 percent," she added.
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