Social distancing may be extended in S. Korea

The number of COVID-19 in South Korea has reached over 10,000 while the global figure is expected to increase above one million. The South Korean government will announce detailed measures about its social distancing policy on Friday after implementing the policy for two weeks.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on Thursday, the total confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country is 9,976 as of 12 a.m. on the same day with 89 more cases since the day before. Given that the country has been adding 100 or so cases per day, the total figure is expected to reach beyond 10,000 as of 12 a.m. on Friday.

Situation in other countries is even worse. The global COVID-19 cases have reached 994,174 in total and the death toll is 51,103 as of Friday morning. “The global death toll has more than doubled in the past week,” said World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “In a few days, the number of confirmed cases will reach one million with the death toll over 50,000.”

The number of COVID-19 patients who entered South Korea from foreign countries was 601 as of 12 a.m. on Thursday. As small-scale group infections are continuing sporadically and the possibility of incoming COVID-19 patients from abroad is becoming higher, the South Korean government has decided to delay the lifting of its social distancing policy. “Future plans about social distancing will be announced before the weekend,” said Kim Kang-rip, a senior official at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.


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