The capital city of South Korea, Seoul, is said to be facing the 'second-wave' of coronavirus. The health officials confirmed, that there have been small clusters of outbreaks since May.
However, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), believed that the first wave of coronavirus never ended in the country.
Jeong Eun-Kyeong, KCDC director, confirmed on Monday, that the supposedly second-wave of the virus entered in early May in the greater Seoul region. He said, "In the metropolitan area, we believe that the first wave was from March to April as well as February to March." Further, Jeong added, "Then we see that the second wave which was triggered by the May holiday has been going on."
South Korea saw its first outbreak in early February, with over 900 cases per day. It was also believed to be the largest outbreak outside China. But by the end of April, South Korea was able to contain the spread of the virus, with the help of intensive testing campaigns. Rampant testing and tracing helped the country decrease the number of cases to single digits in April.
However, as soon as South Korea announced an easing of lockdown restrictions, and people stepped out for the first weekend, the infections began to spike. It was also observed, that the youth of Seoul visited nightclubs and bars over the weekend and since then the city has seen a surge in cases, claiming it to be the second-wave.
In response to the current situation, Jeong said, "We originally predicted that the second wave would emerge in fall or winter. But our forecast turned out to be wrong. As long as people have close contact with others, we believe that infections will continue."
Park Won-soon, the Mayor of Seoul, said in one of the press briefings, that if the infections tend to rise in this pace, the city would then witness hundreds of cases per day. Meanwhile, as of now, the situation is under control and manageable.
South Korea's total number of cases stands at 12,438 and the death toll is at 280. However, recently the number of cases per day has dropped to 20 or less, as compared to previously when the city would record 40 to 60 cases.
