Summer resurgence: What now?

From left, pulmonologist Dr. Han Chang-hoon; infectious disease specialist Dr. Kim Woo-joo; former KCDC director and pulmonologist Dr. Jung Ki-suck

Since an earlier peak of several hundreds of cases a day in late February and March, South Korea managed to maintain two-digit daily caseloads until just about a week ago. Now the country is struggling with a summer resurgence, with Seoul as its new epicenter. The Korea Herald spoke to three health experts who weighed in on how to turn a corner and rise from the renewed crisis.



What went wrong

Korea’s top infectious disease expert Dr. Kim Woo-joo says the country may have eased out of physical distancing orders too soon.

“Local cases were down to zero for the first few days of May. A lot of work was done to achieve the feat. Then the long weekend and vacation season arrived,” he said. “If we’d kept the measures in place for a bit longer, we might have been able to eliminate community spread and focus on controlling the infections coming in from outside the country.”

Since reopening in early May, Seoul has been “on a slippery slope,” according to Kim. From nightclubs to delivery service companies, a series of smaller outbreaks here and there troubled the capital even before the numbers spiked recently.

Kim, who shaped and guided the past three administrations’ efforts to combat diseases caused by emerging viruses, said the government bore some responsibility for sending confusing signals.

“Summer should have been Korea’s chance to prepare for fall and winter. But instead, the government encouraged people to travel and eat out -- two of the riskier activities -- with discounts and vouchers,” he said. “We might have to pay for these errors with even stricter controls later.”



Back to basics

Months into the pandemic, fatigue is setting in and complacency is growing. And people’s waning commitment to coronavirus precautions is being reflected in the numbers, said pulmonologist Dr. Han Chang-hoon of the National Health Insurance Service Hospital in Ilsan.

“Streets were empty back in March. Everyone was socially distancing so well it was akin to a lockdown. Then we came back out again into public places and life returned to normal,” he said.

Han said stopping the coronavirus and saving the economy are “potentially two incompatible goals,” and that some compromises need to be made before health systems collapse and lives are lost. Earlier in Daegu, patients died in their homes waiting to be admitted to hospitals.

Cafes, schools, flea markets -- the sites of the latest outbreaks show how deeply the coronavirus has seeped into everyday reality, he said.

“Until vaccines and cures arrive, there is no better way to beat back the coronavirus than by keeping a meter or two distance between you and another person,” he said. “We all know the drill by now -- face masks, hand hygiene and physical distancing. We just have to do it.”

He said that eventually, the summer wave will subside. “But if we fail to adhere to the basics, it won’t be long before we send earlier successes down the drain and find ourselves back at ground zero.”



From “3Ts” and beyond

Pulmonologist Dr. Jung Ki-suck, who led the KCDC in 2016-17, said if infections climb past manageable levels, Korea might have to forgo its “trace, test and treat” scheme -- known as the 3Ts -- which aims to contain the virus without restricting movements.

“Korea’s coronavirus strategy to date has operated on an honor system of sort, without binding directives. This approach may need to change,” he said. Most of the guidelines from public health agencies remain recommendations and not orders.

Ahead of fall and winter, preparing for a possible “double wave” of the seasonal flu and COVID-19 ought to be a priority, he warned.

Jung added that while it’s easy to cast blame on individuals for the infection control failures, not enough is being done to avoid repeating the same mistakes. 

“We learned the hard way from the first wave that it takes only a few bad apples for an outbreak to spiral out of control. Lifting restrictions without weighing the risks properly will only lead to fresh flare-ups.”

By Kim Arin (arin@heraldcorp.com)