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| Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Jung Eun-kyeong walks into a room to attend a coronavirus-related meeting hosted by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Monday. Yonhap |
By Park Si-soo
Another large-scale outbreak of coronavirus could take place in winter, South Korea's top health official has warned, asking people not to let their guard down until a vaccine and effective treatment are developed.
Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Jung Eun-kyeong issued the warning at a Monday briefing, citing the patterns of surge-flattened-resurgence in bygone pandemics and many facets of virus information that are still left in the dark.
"COVID-19 shows its ups and downs when it comes to infection power" Jung said. "Cold air normally provides a favorable environment for viruses to flourish, while people spend more time indoors in winter. If these happen at the same time, in the worst-case scenario, it could lead to a second outbreak of a coronavirus pandemic."
Jung called this a "precaution scenario," saying many things were still unknown and with the existing data, it's hard to predict how the situation would unfold.
"There were many cases in which patients only suffered light symptoms and recovered and also there were many who tested positive without any symptom," the director said. "We still don't know how many patients earned immunity to coronavirus after recovery, how strong it is and how long the immunity will last."
She underscored the ongoing pandemic would be a "long-term game" that could last "for years to come" unless nations braced for a possible resurgence in winter and were thoroughly prepared.
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