South Korea COVID-19 Cases Spiking After Seeing Early Success

After experiencing early success and low case numbers during the beginning of the pandemic, South Korea just saw a surge of 1,241 new cases of COVID-19 on Christmas Day, making it the largest daily increase the country has seen yet. Another 1,132 cases were reported today, bringing South Korea’s total caseload to 55,902.

According to CBS News, this spike in cases has left the country puzzled and confused, with more than 15,000 new cases reported within the last 15 days alone. In an attempt to curtail the spread, soldiers have been deployed into the capital of Seoul to help facilitate contact tracing measures. As hospitals begin to reach capacity at an alarming rate, South Korea is doing everything it can to expand health care services. 

An official at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Kwak Jin, noted that at least four patients have already died at their homes or long-term care facilities while waiting for admission to a hospital just this month.

“Our hospital system isn’t going to collapse, but the crush in COVID-19 patients has significantly hampered our response,” Choi Won Suk, an infectious disease professor at the Korea University Ansan Hospital, echoed in her concerns.

Choi went on to say that the government should have continued to do more to try and avoid this spike from occurring since South Korea had been doing well at combating the virus at the beginning of the pandemic.