With news like this, people need to make sure they practice good hygiene when at Incheon International Airport:
A Chinese student who is self-quarantined at a dormitory associated with Catholic Kwangdong University has tested positive for coronavirus, the first Chinese citizen to do so on Korean soil.
Korea Times
The school and the Gangwon Province government announced the case on Sunday.
The student, 22, is being treated at Gangwondo Samcheok Medical Center.
The student entered the country on Feb. 22 on a flight that left Shenyang Taoxian International Airport at 11:15 a.m. and landed at Incheon International Airport at 2:20 p.m.
You can read more at the link.
The coronavirus continues to spread in South Korea, mostly from the Shincheonji church members that were exposed to it:
After the number of confirmed COVID-19 infections surged to nearly 4,000 Sunday, the government said it would revise virus-response measures to prioritize hospitalization of those with severe symptoms.
Korea Times
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 here reached 3,736 with 20 reported fatalities as of 10 p.m., with the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) and Daegu City Government reporting 731 additional infections.
Of the 731, more than 70 percent are linked to the Daegu branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus. The KCDC said that the latest fatalities involved those who had been waiting to be hospitalized, while the 18th was a male Daegu resident aged 83 who had also suffered a stroke and had hypertension.
An 86-year-old woman, who had been in self-quarantine at her residence while waiting to be hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19, was transferred to a hospital early Sunday but died due to dyspnea, according to the Daegu City Government. She also suffered from diabetes and hyperlipidemia.
Another victim was an 80-year-old man who had been to a clinic in the neighboring county of Chilgok. The man, who also suffered from hypertension, tested positive Friday and had been hospitalized.
The fatalities continue to come from the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions. Younger and healthier people seem to be able to recover from this virus.
Due to the spread of the virus, now 79 countries have travel restrictions in place on South Korea.
South Korea has reported 813 new cases bringing the total to 3,150 people infected, mostly in the Daegu area. This number is only going to continue to rise as more of the Shincheonji church members are tested. Of these cases 17 have died. Here is the most interesting news from the article:
The country also reported its first case of reinfection by the new coronavirus, with a 73-year-old woman testing positive for the novel coronavirus for a second time, even after being released from quarantine.
Yonhap
This seems potentially scary, but the article did not provide any context though on what this means. Here is an article I found that provides some context:
“Everyone, by the time they reach adulthood, should have some immunity to some coronavirus,” said Tim Sheahan, a coronavirus researcher at University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. But because it doesn’t last, older people can get reinfected. The elderly also have a higher death rate from coronaviruses such as SARS and MERS, a pattern 2019-nCoV is following.
“There is some evidence that people can be reinfected with the four coronaviruses and that there is no long-lasting immunity,” Dr. Susan Kline, an infectious disease specialist at of the University of Minnesota. “Like rhinoviruses [which cause the common cold], you could be infected multiple times over your life. You can mount an antibody response, but it wanes, so on subsequent exposure you don’t have protection.” Subsequent infections often produce milder illness, however.
The common-cold-causing coronaviruses are different enough that an infection from one won’t produce immunity to another. But the novel coronavirus overlaps enough with SARS that survivors of the 2002-3003 outbreak might have some immunity to the new arrival, Sheahan said: “Is it enough to prevent infection? I don’t know.”
Stat News
The coronavirus is similar to the common cold virus to where people can build limited immunity, but can still catch it again; especially older people with weaker immune systems.
It seems that the coronavirus is following this same pattern. The article goes on to speculate that COVID-19 could go on and just become the fifth form of seasonal coronaviruses that appear during the colder months. However, according to the article there is much still unknown about this virus that requires further research.
It would be interesting to see complete statistics from South Korea in regards to the ages and health status of those infected with the coronavirus. That would help determine how much more older people and those with preexisting health conditions are at risk of contracting the virus than younger people.
If the virus does spread in North Korea it will be interesting to see if the Kim regime even admits to its spread or not:
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned top party officials of the “serious consequences” of failing to prevent an outbreak of the new coronavirus in the country, state media reported Saturday.
The impoverished nation, with a weak and ill-equipped healthcare system, has closed its borders to prevent the spread of the disease into its territory.
Kim told a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea that the fight against the virus was a “crucial state affair for the defence of the people” that required maximum discipline, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
“In case the infectious disease spreading beyond control finds its way into our country, it will entail serious consequences,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying.
Two senior officials — party vice-chairmen Ri Man Gon and Pak Thae Dok — were sacked, and a party unit disbanded for corruption, the report said, indicating that they may have been involved in graft linked with the anti-epidemic measures.
“No special cases must be allowed,” he added, and ordered officials to “seal off all the channels and space through which the infectious disease may find its way”.
AFP
You can read more at the link.
Yes you read that right, China of all places is beginning to restrict the movement of Koreans that arrive in the country:
More than 50 countries have implemented travel bans or quarantine measures on travelers coming from South Korea as of Friday amid fear of the global spread of the new coronavirus.
In an odd turn of events, they include China, the origin of the disease.
Korean travelers face particular uncertainties flying into China as provinces and cities implement unexpected quarantines. Some Koreans residing there are being shunned by neighbors in apartment complexes.
In a matter of two days, Korea saw its number of coronavirus cases double to over 2,300 as of Friday. The spike comes as health authorities conduct extensive testing on members of a minor Christian sect, Shincheonji, who make up the majority of new cases, which are mostly in the Daegu and North Gyeongsang area.
In contrast, Chinese figures are showing a decrease in its cases, with 327 new cases and 44 new deaths announced as of Friday morning.
Despite the fact that the coronavirus originated in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, China has been tightening its border controls and quarantine measures against travelers coming from Korea since the beginning of the week.
Joong Ang Ilbo
You can read more at the link, but China is having many Koreans who arrive in China go into quarantine for 14 days including all from the Daegu area.
All the best to this family as they deal with a difficult health situation now affecting the entire family:
The wife of an American soldier who tested positive for the new coronavirus also has been infected, the military said Saturday as the total number of confirmed cases in South Korea soared past 3,000.
The soldier was the first U.S. service member to contract the pneumonia-like illness, which has spread rapidly since first appearing in China late last year.
His wife and their baby were transported from Daegu to an isolation unit at Camp Humphreys where the soldier also is being held, officials said.
The woman had been in self-quarantine since Wednesday, when her husband tested positive, according to U.S. Forces Korea. She also was confirmed to have the virus earlier Sunday.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
