No. of coronavirus infections over 5,000

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Sat, September 23, 2023 | 07:05

Health & Science

No. of coronavirus infections over 5,000

Posted : 2020-03-03 16:58

Updated : 2020-03-03 19:21

Figure Members of the Capital Defense Command spray disinfectant in Guryong Village, an urban slum in Seoul, Tuesday. Socially disadvantaged groups are more vulnerable to the new coronavirus because their access to masks and clean water is limited. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

President Moon declares 'belated' war on COVID-19

By Kim Se-jeong

The government reported 851 additional cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, pushing the total number of patients here over 5,000, among which there have been 31 fatalities, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

A total of 5,186 cases were confirmed as of 4 p.m., of which 4,285 were from Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province. The KCDC said 23 patients were in critical condition, indicating there could be more fatalities soon.

President Moon Jae-in has "declared a war" on the coronavirus and placed all government agencies on 24-hour alert.

"We're in a critical phase. The crisis in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province is at its peak," Moon said during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday.

Regarding the provision of masks, Moon apologized for the government's failure to ensure that enough were being provided.

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"As the number of confirmed patients is growing fast, mask supplies aren't catching up with the demand. Importing masks is also difficult. I feel sorry for not supplying enough masks to Koreans."

On Tuesday, the government provided 5.76 million masks to designated sales outlets, specifically post offices and Nonghyup Banks' Hanaro Mart stores in rural areas, and pharmacies in Seoul. Yet, lines were easily found, with some very long ones, outside these outlets nationwide.

The mask shortage has persisted for more than a week now. On Feb. 26, the government began intervening in production and distribution, but people are still finding it difficult to buy them.

With regard to the growing lack of hospital beds in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, Vice Health Minister Kim Gwang-lip promised to secure 2,000 more for coronavirus patients by the start of next week. On Monday, in Daegu alone, 1,800 patients were awaiting at home for admission to hospital, and some died before they could get hospital treatment.

On Monday, the National Training Institute of Education, Science and Technology began accepting patients with minor symptoms for quarantine ― it has 160 beds. The next day, Samsung Educational Research Center in Yeongdeok County, and Nonghyup Education Institute in Gyeongju, both in North Gyeongsang Province began receiving patients ― they can accommodate 210 and 235 patients, respectively.

In addition, Vice Minister Kim said the quarantine authorities will now shift their priority to locating other regular Daegu residents who may be infected.

"Until now, the focus in Daegu was testing members of the Shincheonji Church, and because of this, other city residents had to wait which has become a problem," Kim said. "Now the tests on the members are almost done and we can focus on other city residents and treat them accordingly."

The Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus has almost 9,000 members and the authorities have tested almost all of them. As of Tuesday, out of the total number of confirmed cases, 2,792 (62 percent) were members of the religious sect.

Holding the church accountable for the fast spread of the new coronavirus, the Seoul Metropolitan Government went ahead and canceled the registration of Shincheonji's Seoul branch, Tuesday. The branch was registered in November 2011, and a city official cited the local government code that allows it to shut down a corporation when it brings about damage to the public.

skim@koreatimes.co.kr