South Korea prepares for another potential Covid-19 wave

Seoul, April 23 (IANS): South Korean health authorities said on Thursday that they were preparing for a possible second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic later this year in conjunction with the flu season.

Yoon Tae-ho, an officer of disinfection at the Central Disaster Management headquarters, told a press briefing that the health authorities were preparing medical supplies and facilities for the second wave, reports Xinhua news agency.

Yoon said the Covid-19, a flu-like virus, could highly likely spread again in conjunction with the flu season, noting that a massive cluster infection could possibly happen more harshly than what happened in Daegu, the epicentre of the pandemic in South Korea.

On Thursday, South Korea reported another single-digit number of new coronavirus cases, as the country’s strict social distancing campaign and enhanced quarantine measures have helped contain the spread of the virus.

The country added eight new virus cases, bringing the nation’s total infections to 10,702, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

The figure marks a drastic drop from the February 29 peak of 909 new cases, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The country confirmed its first Covid-19 infection on January 20.

Of the eight new cases, four were imported.

The nation’s death toll from the coronavirus rose by two to 240, the authorities said.