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No time to lower your guard on Covid yet

Published: 30 Jul. 2023, 20:05

Covid-19 infections are rising by an alarming pace under the extraordinary heat wave. The weekly count stopped under 120,000 on June 1, when the government lowered the disease grade to “alert” from “serious” and lifted the segregation mandate for infected people. In the third week of July, the toll doubled to 253,825 and was also up 35.8 percent from 186,937 in the previous week. Hospitals and clinics are crammed with people testing for possible infection.

Patients have surged from the third week of the de facto full lifting of restrictions — and have been on the rise for four consecutive weeks — with the daily count numbering over 40,000. Air-conditioned indoor confinement under the sizzling and stifling heat has likely played a part. As Covid-19 is coupled with the influenza spread, health authorities have been advising measures on the personal level, such as mask-wearing, but few would go about with masks in public transportation during the hot season. The resurgence has been common elsewhere, as seen in the increasing hospitalization rate in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health authorities in Korea plan to ease quarantine measures on Covid-19 from mid-August by treating it as a seasonal flu despite the latest spike in infections. The health authorities pointed to the negligeable level of serious illness rate of 0.10 percent and death rate of 0.03 percent in the first week of July for its contained alarm. Fortunately, the new XBB variant of the Covid-19 virus is less deadly than earlier variants. Experts like Jeon Byung-yul — former head of the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the dean of the Cha University Graduate School of Health Industry — believes that Covid-19 could come under control as long as individuals keep to hygienic practices, as much is already known about the disease.

Still, the disease is less threatening mostly to the healthy and younger people. Jung Ki-suck — the chairman of the National Health Insurance Service who had headed the government’s special team on Covid-19 response — said that people with health risks and those aged 65 years or older must bear extra vigilance against the resurgence. For instance, Covid-19 could bring about fatal complications for those with high blood pressure, diabetes and other chronic illnesses. They must keep away from contagious environment. Families and caregivers of the vulnerable people must take extra care.

The final mask-wearing mandate in hospitals and clinics is lifted when the level 2 falls to the lowest level 4 from next month. But residential care facilities with higher ratio of high-risk group members are required to let caregivers and their seniors wear face masks. They must keep in mind that the Covid-19 virus can gain more contagious power when the mercury goes down.