‘Next 7 to 10 days will be critical to containment of new coronavirus,’ says KCDC

A South Korean patient diagnosed with new coronavirus has recuperated enough to be discharged from hospital. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), a 55-year-old man (Patient 2) diagnosed with the Wuhan coronavirus on Jan. 24 is going through a final review by the health authorities to be declared fully cured and allowed to be discharged.

“We’ve stopped administering antiviral agent as his symptoms of pneumonia are improving. The virus test result was also negative,” said Jeong Eun-gyeong, the head of the KCDC. It appears that he will be allowed to go home as early as on Tuesday.

Amid an explosive increase of patients and dead victims of the coronavirus within China, the South Korean government predicts that the next seven to 10 days will be the critical juncture in containing the spread of the new coronavirus. The Central Disaster Management Headquarters have decided to take a comprehensive measure to put everyone affected in the patient’s contact points under house quarantine, starting from Tuesday. “Contagion is worsening in China, so we are viewing that the next seven to 10 days will be critical,” said Park Neung-hoo, the Health and Welfare Minister of South Korea.

There were no additional patients in South Korea on Monday. Of the 490 potential patients showing similar symptoms, 414 proved negative and became released from quarantine. For the rest 51, the test is still underway. Three hundred twenty-six Korean citizens who boarded the second plane back home from Wuhan City, the epicenter of the disease, were all tested negative.

“The new coronavirus is exhibiting patterns strikingly different than other contagious diseases in terms of higher infectivity, the possibility of symptomless transmission, and lack of sure,” said South Korean President Moon Jae-jin during his weekly meeting with Prime Minister Chung Sye-gyun. “The prime minister must play a central role along with the cabinet members in making an all-out effort to stop the spread of the disease.”


Mee-Jee Lee image@donga.com · Sang-Jun Han alwaysj@donga.com