Source: China News Network
According to South Korea's "JoongAng Daily" on November 4, as of 00:00 local time on the 3rd, that is, the third day of South Korea's implementation of the "phased resumption of daily" epidemic prevention measures, the number of confirmed cases of new crown in a single day surged by 2667. Experts said that the current number of confirmed cases has not fully reflected the impact of Halloween and the transformation of the epidemic prevention model, and the epidemic situation may become more serious in the future.
Infographic: Pedestrians crossing the street on the streets of South Korea.
The Halloween effect is not fully reflected The epidemic may be more serious
The Central Epidemic Prevention Countermeasures Headquarters of the Korean Disease Management Department said that the number of new confirmed cases on the 3rd increased by 1,078 from the 2nd. Although the number of confirmed cases every Wednesday will be relatively high due to the small number of people checked up on weekends, the sudden increase of more than 1,000 people is still very rare.
Zheng Tongling, head of the comprehensive coordination team of the Central Epidemic Prevention Countermeasures Headquarters in South Korea, said that it was partly affected by the previous relaxation of restrictions on private gatherings.
He also said that the decline in immunity of the early batch of vaccinators, as well as the cooler weather, increased indoor activity, and the environment becoming conducive to the survival of the virus, also had a certain impact on the surge in confirmed cases.
South Korea's health authorities have predicted that the number of new confirmed cases in a single day could double to three times the current number of new diagnoses after the implementation of phased resumption of routine measures.
Kim Cho, a professor of infectious medicine at Bucheon Hospital at Suncheongo University in South Korea, said that "the recent infection reproduction index (rt) is 1.06 and will continue to rise", "When the rt value rises to 1.2, it is expected that the number of single-day confirmed cases in South Korea will reach 3500 next week, and then 5000 next week, and will further rise to more than 7500 in the following week." ”
Kim Woo-joo, a professor of infectious medicine at Guro Hospital, Korea University, also said, "The impact of the Halloween carnival and the transformation of the 'coexistence with the new crown' epidemic prevention model has not yet been fully reflected in the number of confirmed cases. The subsequent diffusion trend is likely to be more severe. ”
Data map: Incheon International Airport staff in South Korea strictly implement epidemic prevention measures. Photo by Liu Xu, a reporter of China News Service
Emergency plans or earlier triggered?
The report pointed out that the most important thing at present is to control the number of critically ill patients within the capacity of medical institutions, but there are predictions that the "circuit breaker" mechanism (emergency plan) may be triggered earlier than expected.
South Korea's medical frontline is not optimistic about the current situation. Yan Zhongzhi, a professor of infectious internal medicine at Jiaquan University's Ji Hospital, said that "the bed occupancy rate in the capital circle has exceeded 60 percent" and that "once the critically ill beds in the capital area are occupied, even if other places are still empty, it will cause the medical system to fuse."
Experts pointed out that the increase in the number of confirmed cases is expected, and only by improving the medical response mechanism as soon as possible and stepping up vaccinations for high-risk groups can the epidemic prevention model of "coexistence with the new crown" be successful.
Infographic: In Seoul, South Korea, medical staff test citizens for the new crown virus.
The South Korean government decided to vaccinate these people with booster injections a month in advance
The report pointed out that there are views that in order to avoid the epidemic prevention model of "coexistence with the new crown" in South Korea, which will lead to the circuitization of the medical system, it is necessary to inject reinforcement needles as soon as possible for the elderly people who are prone to breakthrough infection, and reduce the number of unadjurted adults as far as possible to eliminate the blind spots of epidemic prevention.
South Korea's epidemic prevention authorities have also decided to change the time for inpatients and staff of susceptible facilities such as nursing homes, nursing homes, and psychiatric hospitals to be vaccinated with reinforcing needles from 6 months after the completion of basic vaccinations to one month earlier. For the general elderly outside susceptible places, the authorities are also considering a programme to shorten the interval between intensified vaccinations.
Experts pointed out that the interval between vaccinations of the elderly over 60 years old should be shortened from 6 months to 4 months.
South Korea professor Jung Chung said that "after 4 months of vaccination, the preventive effect of Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines on the Delta variant strain will drop to about 50%", "For the elderly population, consideration should be given to supplementing the injection after 4 months of vaccination." ”