The updates on COVID-19 in Korea as of 7 April

○ As of 0:00, 7 April 2020, a total of 10,331 cases (including 802 imported cases) have been confirmed, of which 6,694 cases have been discharged from isolation. Newly confirmed cases are 47 in total

 

○ Epidemiological links have been found for 82.3% of the total cases; 9.9% are either under investigation or sporadic cases. More details on the epidemiological links within each province or city are shown in Table 2.

 

○ From Uijeongbu St. Mary’s Hospital in Gyeonggi Province, 4 additional cases were confirmed during home quarantine. In total, 48 cases (patients = 18; staff/workers = 14; family/visitors/other contacts = 16) have been confirmed since 29 March.

 

○ From Second Mi-Ju Hospital in Daegu City, 11 additional cases were confirmed from the testing of 159 persons (patients and staff) in cohort isolation. In total, 185 cases (patients = 171; staff/workers = 14) have been confirmed since 26 March.

 

○ On 5 April, from Daegu Medical Center, 1 nurse working with confirmed patient was confirmed with COVID-19. Investigation into contacts and other disease control/prevention measures are underway. KCDC will continue its effort to ensure a safer working environment for healthcare workers in the front line. (The figures on Table 2 are based on cases reported to KCDC before 0:00 of 7 April and may differ from above.)

 

○ KCDC’s National Institute of Health plans to conduct analysis of defense ability and others through serum epidemiology studies such as COVID-19 antibody testing. It is also working on COVID-19 vaccine development including production of VLP candidate substances.

Virus-like particles (VLP) are particles composed only of structural proteins without genetic material; they are a type of vaccine that induces immune response without viral replication.

 

○ Starting 1 April, Korean government is requiring all inbound travelers who boarded from overseas to mandatory quarantine for 2 weeks.

Persons under home quarantine (self-quarantine) are required to follow the self-quarantine guidelines provided. They must not share their utensils, towels and other personal belongings with their family, refrain from coming in contact with family members, roommates, or cohabitants.

 

○ Starting 5 April, stronger penalty is applied to persons who violate mandatory home quarantine (self-quarantine). Failure to comply with mandatory home quarantine is punishable by imprisonment up to 1 year or a fine up to 10 million won in accordance with Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act.

 

○ KCDC asked people for continued participation in the Enhanced Social Distancing campaign which has been extended to 19 April. KCDC is advising people to refrain from activities that make it easy to come in close contact with other people in an enclosed space and to maintain good personal hygiene including washing hands and covering coughs/sneezes.

 

source: https://www.cdc.go.kr/board/board.es?mid=a30402000000&bid=0030