[Interview with health expert] Prof. Kwon Isun: "Unlike in the new place where I cooperated with the authorities, it is time to upgrade the 'social distance' from two to three levels.

In March (at the time of the Shinchonji Church outbreak), a cooperative system was established between the quarantine authorities and the outbreak group (Shinchonji Church) in response to the concern about the new coronavirus outbreak, and through mutual cooperation, we were able to quickly conduct inspections (on suspected infected people). But that has not been the case in recent cases.

It has been reported that the new corona virus is spreading around the world to the extent that it has been classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), and it has been suggested that the recent outbreak at Shinchonji Church and the recent outbreak at Sarang First Church have caused more asymptomatic cases in Korea, resulting in a pandemic.

In an interview with Cheonji Ilbo on the 27th, Kwon Isun, a professor of medical management at Kwangdong Catholic University and vice president of the Seoul Health Association, said, "The recent outbreak of the new corona outbreak from the churches has obviously resulted in many asymptomatic infected people. Their spontaneous examination is urgently needed. Professor Kwon added: "The new corona outbreak centered on the First Church of Sarang is even more worrisome than in March in that they are antagonistic to the quarantine authorities who demand inspections.

He added: "Having a religion doesn't mean you can avoid being infected. Anyone can be infected with the new corona. The risk of infection is higher in spaces where there are many people in close proximity (like churches). In this regard, testing (for people suspected of being infected) is extremely important and urgent.


Droplet infection, extremely dangerous

Professor Kwon explained that mammals, including humans, shed "exudative secretions" from their bodies. Typical examples are sneezing and runny nose. One of these is a tiny droplet called a "droplet," but the problem is that this droplet drifts into the air. The risk of infection is especially high when people are talking to each other face to face.

Professor Kwon said, "The droplets can get into our bodies through our ears and eyes as well as our nose and mouth. Therefore, it can only become more infectious in spaces where there are many people in close proximity," he stressed.

He added: "As the quarantine authorities have said, we can no longer return to the days before the new corona. We must change our erroneous habits, such as sharing one dish with several people and passing cups around, and thoroughly manage personal hygiene, including hand washing.

Commenting on the recent nationwide spread of the new corona from the metropolitan area to non-metropolitan areas, he said, "I think the time has come to upgrade the 'social distance' from two levels to three.

Many experts are torn between choosing epidemic protection and the economy, but the domestic new corona scourge is now approaching a critical level. It is painful (considering the economy), but if we take a deeper look at it from a long-term perspective, it makes sense to step up the distance now.

Prof. Kwon said that the more than 500 asymptomatic cases in the past two weeks were the result of a prolonged period of the new corona scourge and the accumulation of fatigue.

He noted that the sense of community that Koreans have in trying to wear masks out of consideration for themselves and others is not seen in any other country.

We are not in a situation where the government can rely on a sense of community alone to prevent the spread of the new corona. The government should continue to take measures such as suspending the operation of high-risk facilities such as hunting stalls, clubs, and karaoke facilities, while asking for the public's cooperation," he stressed.

If the U.S. has the world's best medical technology, Korea has a world-class health care system," said Professor Kwon, adding that the previously established public health care system should be actively utilized to address the problem of a shortage of hospital beds caused by the rapid increase in confirmed new corona cases.

He said, "We've seen Germany and Sweden have seen their health systems collapse due to new coronas. Currently, there are still 200-300 confirmed cases in the country and the occupancy rate of hospital beds is high. We must actively consider the idea of utilizing health centers, health care centers and social welfare facilities.


Sustained management of fully recovered patients is necessary.

He explained the characteristics of the new corona in terms of recent reports that people who have been cured of the new corona are suffering from serious sequelae, saying that there may be some epidemiological mutations, so even those who have been cured need to be connected to the medical system and need to be managed continuously as an observation group.

Kwon said, "According to the research of many eminent scholars, even though the new corona is a respiratory disease, it can cause problems in every corner of our body and can mutate over and over again, so it represents an uncharted territory that is inaccessible to modern science.

In Hong Kong, there have been cases of people who had been cured but then became infected again with the new corona. The government should not just release patients with the novel corona from hospitals when they have been cured, but must continue to manage them as an observation group.

On the other hand, Professor Kwon indicated that the new corona could be a virus that is always around us, although there is no vaccine for it like the common cold, and said, "The situation with the new corona will come to an end at some point, but I think it will be an end in the same sense as the common cold, rather than a complete end.

Source: http://www.newscj.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=773143