How to cope with emerging viral diseases: lessons from South Korea's strategy for COVID-19, and collateral damage to cardiometabolic health.

ABSTRACT: South Korea is a unique country in many aspects in terms of its strategy against the COVID-19 pandemic. From February 2020, the South Korean government adopted active epidemiological investigations, strict isolation of affected patients, and extensive public lockdowns, which were helpful in controlling spread until the end of 2021. This stable situation in South Korea has changed dramatically since the Omicron variant-reportedly less severe but more infective than the original strain-became dominant from January 2022. From mid-February to mid-April 2022, daily cases of COVID-19 in South Korea increased steeply, reaching > 600,000 cases/day: the highest incidence rate in the world at that time. Despite this rapid increase, the South Korean government has eased its preventive strategies prog

SUBMITTER: Lim S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9442269 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature