ISSN: 0973-7510

E-ISSN: 2581-690X

Short Communication | Open Access
Insuk Sim1, Yun-Jung Kang2 and Hye Jeong Kim3
1Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, Kyungdong University, Wonju 26495, Republic of Korea.
2Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, Ansan University, Ansan 15328, Republic of Korea.
3Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, Kyungwoon University, Gumi 39160, Republic of Korea.
J Pure Appl Microbiol. 2021;15(2):590-593  | Article Number: 6828
https://doi.org/10.22207/JPAM.15.2.13 | © The Author(s). 2021
Received: 24/11/2020 | Accepted: 25/02/2021 | Published: 11/05/2021
Abstract

The first case of coronavirus disease reported in South Korea was a person infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), who entered South Korea from China on January 20, 2020. In the Capital, the Korean government applied the social distancing policy at level 2.5 for 8 days from August 30 to September 6, 2020. The Central Disease Relief Center explained that the reason the number of newly confirmed cases per day did not fall below 100 was because the infection spread nationwide through sporadic mass infections or asymptomatic patients. Asymptomatic infection with SARS-CoV-2 is a subject of constant controversies, as asymptomatic patients can infect other people while not showing any symptoms themselves. Their atypical clinical characteristics in the early stages of the disease make prevention more difficult. Additional studies on the infecting power of SARS-CoV-2 in asymptomatic cases are needed. Nonetheless, such probabilities should be taken into consideration and we should remain vigilant.

Keywords

COVID-19, preemptive tests, SARS-CoV-2, social distancing level 2.5, asymptomatic infection

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