發布日期:2023-02-01 01:28:55
An emergency 119 staff member sprays disinfectant on himself after driving the country's 22nd confirmed coronavirus patient to Chosun University Hospital in Gwangju, Thursday. / Yonhap
By Kim Se-jeong
Korea will continue to grapple with new cases of coronavirus infection in the coming weeks, if not months, as more people than previously estimated have come into contact with infected patients, according to medical experts, Thursday.
"The third and sixth patients from last week traveled around the country without knowing they had been infected. The number of people they came into contact with surpassed 1,000 before they began showing symptoms and later were confirmed to be infected. That's why there were many confirmed patients earlier," Kim Woo-joo from the Korea University Guro Hospital said Thursday. "From the viewpoint of infectious diseases, this is an anticipated event, so anticipate more to come."
Kim noted the coronavirus outbreak is now spreading to small communities, putting everyone in the country at risk.
Four additional cases were confirmed here, Thursday, pushing the total to 23. Three of these ― the 20th, 21st and 22nd ― were infected by already confirmed patients, while the last, a Chinese tourist, is suspected of being infected in their home country.