S. KOREA REPORTS 1,841 NEW CASES

[Anchor Lead]

Korea reported 1,841 cases of COVID-19 today, marking the 52nd straight day of new cases in four digits. Disease control authorities said that a growing number of patients in critical condition is causing more deaths and stressed that vaccination is key to containing the disease.

[Pkg]

This is a kindergarten in Seoul that saw its first case of COVID-19 on August 22nd. It started with one child, who so far has infected 15 others. The kindergarten subsequently began a two-week remote learning program.

[Soundbite] Song Eun-cheol(Head, Infectious Disease Control Division, Seoul City Hall) : "It’s hard for children to social distance as they play and interact together for a long time."

The number of new cases fell slightly from the previous day, but authorities say that tough social distancing measures are what is keeping the case numbers from exploding. Now the problem is a steady increase in the number of critically ill patients. There were 369 people in critical condition as of August 13th, but the number exceeded 400 on the 21st and then spiked to 434. The government predicted that 400-plus patients in critical condition are likely to result in higher fatality. Most of the critically ill patients and deaths are occurring in the 60-or-older age group. Data show that people 60 or older account for an overwhelming 93% of the deaths and 68% of the patients in critical conditions. Health authorities emphasized that 90% of the elderly and more than 80% of adults should be fully vaccinated by the end of October in order to transition to a more flexible disease control scheme.

[Soundbite] Jeong Eun-kyeong(KDCA Director) : "In order to transition to a more flexible set of disease control measures, Korea’s vaccination rate has to be raised as much as possible by late October and preparation should be underway now."

Meanwhile, the Korean Society for Preventive Medicine and the Korean Society of Epidemiology proposed more sustainable disease control measures since the current distancing rules are not producing effective results given the social cost that went into it.