(Dan Tri) – The resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic may force the Korean government to tighten response measures despite the `irrecoverable` damage caused to the economy.

Medical staff take Covid-19 test samples outside the train station in Seoul on December 14.

From the anti-epidemic model to the risk of losing control of the epidemic

Earlier this year, South Korea was seen as a model for responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The World Health Organization (WHO) praised South Korea’s efforts and the government also quickly promoted the `Covid-19 diplomacy` campaign – supporting countries to cope with the pandemic and announcing details.

However, eight months later, those initial achievements have disappeared, and South Korea is now facing the risk of the Covid-19 pandemic spreading uncontrollably due to consecutive outbreak clusters and response measures.

On December 13, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the country recorded a record of 1,030 new cases per day.

Park Young-joo, a 78-year-old woman in Gyeonggi province near Seoul, shared that she felt very worried.

According to KDCA data, to date, Korea has recorded a total of more than 44,000 cases of Covid-19, of which only 600 deaths.

Alert level 3 still allows essential workers to work, but prohibits activities gathering more than 10 people, public transport only serves a maximum of 50% capacity.

Negligence and subjectivity

Relaxing epidemic prevention measures too early could be the cause of Covid-19’s resurgence in Korea.

After nearly a year of complying with epidemic prevention measures such as wearing masks and practicing social distancing, many Koreans have begun to have a subjective mentality, Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun warned on December 15.

`While most people do not mind the inconveniences and strictly comply with regulations, some people are causing the virus to spread rapidly due to their subjectivity and irresponsibility,` Mr. Chung said at a meeting.

Korean officials discovered many cases of social distancing violations such as at churches or night entertainment businesses.

Some experts believe that the current situation is due to the Korean government’s decision to relax epidemic prevention measures too early.

`The Korean government has adjusted its policies since October and now they have to strengthen response measures as the pandemic becomes stronger,` said Eom Joong-sik, an infectious disease expert at Gachon University.