#14,993
In today's (March 1st) 1600 hrs update, South Korea's confirmed cases count increased by 586 cases to 3736, and one additional death (n=18) was reported. Of note, 3700 of these cases have been reported over the past 11 days.
Today's increase is considerably less than yesterday's (n=813), with a number of previously hard hit regions reporting no new cases. The bulk of today's new cases were reported in Daegu.While possibly a hopeful sign, it could also mean that the `low hanging fruit' of tracing and testing contacts of known cases is running low. Much will depend on how many unconnected `community acquired' cases are detected in the days ahead.
A few notes from their 0900 hrs regular briefing include:
□ The National Defense Agency for Headquarters warned that this weekend was an important time point for the epidemic after the end of this weekend, and asked to comply with the rules of personal hygiene and practice 'Social Distancing.'
○ It is important to keep the basic precautions such as washing hands with soap under running water and covering your mouth and nose with clothing sleeves.
-Avoid contact with people with fever or respiratory symptoms. For this purpose, visits to places where many people gather in closed spaces or religious events should be avoided as much as possible.
○ Especially, people over 65 years old, chronic diseases, pregnant women, etc. should not visit places where many people gather, and inevitably visit a medical institution or wear a mask when going out.
○ People who have fever or respiratory symptoms should refrain from going to school without going to school or going to work.
-In addition, if the fever persists above 38 degrees or the symptoms become severe, ① call the call center (☎1339, ☎Area Code + 120) or the local public health center or ② visit the screening clinic * first.
* Department of Health and Human Services nurijip ( www.mohw.go.kr , top banner, medical screening clinics operating list view "), Centers for Disease Control nurijip ( www.cdc.go.kr , top banner" screening clinics')
-When visiting the screening clinic, he was asked to wear a mask and visit his car.
The CDC upgraded their travel warning to South Korea on the 28th, and updated their warning again yesterday.
Coronavirus in South Korea
Warning - Level 3, Avoid Nonessential TravelAlert - Level 2, Practice Enhanced Precautions
Watch - Level 1, Practice Usual Precautions
Warning - Level 3, Avoid Nonessential Travel—Widespread Community
Transmission
Key Points
- CDC recommends that travelers avoid all nonessential travel to South Korea.
- There is a widespread, ongoing outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel (new) coronavirus that can be spread from person to person.
- Older adults and people with chronic medical conditions may be at increased risk for severe disease.
What is the current situation?
CDC recommends that travelers avoid all nonessential travel to South Korea. There is limited access to adequate medical care in affected areas.
A novel coronavirus is causing an outbreak of respiratory illness (COVID-19) in South Korea. Illness with this virus has ranged from mild to severe. Signs and symptoms of infection include fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. Sore throat also has been reported in some patients. Some patients also have reported diarrhea without other symptoms. This new coronavirus has caused severe disease and death in patients who developed pneumonia. Risk factors for severe illness are not yet clear, although older adults and those with chronic medical conditions may be at higher risk for severe illness.
What can travelers do to protect themselves and others?
CDC recommends avoiding nonessential travel to South Korea.
Do not travel to Daegu due to the high level of community transmission of virus and the presence of local quarantine procedures. Large numbers of cases continue to be reported from this city and it is the source of most cases in the country. Cases elsewhere in the world have also been linked to this city.
(Continue . . .)
There are roughly 200,000 Americans in South Korea at any given time (including 30,000+ military), which makes any decision to evacuate non-essential personnel a major logistical nightmare.
While it has never been attempted, the U.S. military has drilled for this possibility during a `wartime' scenario (dubbed Noncombatant Evacuation Operation exercise Focused Passage).
Whether that could be reasonably be done under a `pandemic' scenario is unknown.
