시사&소설

  Jeju had 4 more cases of COVID19(449~456) added on January 4th. This is 0.5% of all the samples tesed out of 1,565.

  The 8 cases are ▲3 from contacting case 441(451· 452·453) ▲3 from contacting case 443(449·450·454) ▲1 from Dongbaek Welfare Center(456) ▲1 to be resovled.

- 451, 452, 453: Family with case 441.

Been in isolation since January 3rd when case 441 tested positive.

Case 451 has no symptoms. Case 452 has a slight cold and coughs. And case 453 has a sinus cold.

- 449, 450, 454: Contacted case 443.

Cases 449 and 450번 are family with case 443. Been in isolation from January 3rd when case 443 was confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus.

Case 454 contacted case 443.

Case 449 has no symptoms. Case 450 has a stuffy nose and disgeusia. And case 454 has a running and stuffy nose.

- 456: Contacted case 377 who is related with Dongbaek Welfare Center. Been in isolation since December 26th. This sums up to 19 who got infected throught the center.

- 455: Visited a healthcare center after having symptoms like coughing, and tested positived after tests.

 Two cases of confirmed cononavirus patients may be a clue to evolving of the virus, an expert suggested.

 Dr. Bae Jong-myon, director of the Jeju Center for Infection Diseases and Prevention(JeCI), told reporters a hypothesis at the joint press conference of Jeju Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters held at the Jeju Special Self-governing Provincial Office on March 12th, according to Jeju Economy.

 This was given to a question that the 2 workers at the Guro Call Center were confrimed positive to tests but, still, showed no symptoms. Even the family of the 2nd woker's got tested negative.

 Dr. Bae explains "It seems that mutated viruses are spreading among people, that don't infect others but, instead, develop no symptoms.". He added "The viral detection with no symptoms may suggest that coronavirus is evolving to adapt to human body."

◆ The Coronavirus Seems Adapting to Human While Mutating

 This means that the 2 patients may have no infection on Jeju Island, according to him. "We need more tests to prove it, but family members who are in close contacts with the 2nd infected worker were tested negative, and she got positive on March 10th after having negative on March 9th. This may lead to a conclusion that it is highly improbable that she spreaded the virus while in Jeju." the director added. It is because she was possibly negative to the virus while she was traveling in Jeju, considering she got tested postive only after the 10th.

 He gave the cause of the result to the viral mutation. He said, "We are having more contamination with little visual symptoms. And, Wuhan(the epicenter in China) had many cases with the severe fever and coughing in the beginning, but very fewer cases with coughing now.". From this, he concluded "The (corona) virus came to Korea via lots of people, thus, it adaps to men. Like this, it has changed to see its genetic mutation."

 However, no symptom doesn't necessarily assure that you can be healed from the disease, he pointed out. Plus, it takes at least 2 days to have symptoms after the incubation period. So, there can be many interpretations about the possibility of infection.

 The director put an emphasis, as well, that it is time to change the quarantine strategies as 'no symptom' or 'little symptom' isn't a proof of the end of the coronavirus. It rather means that it is highly possible to get more contagious because it is hardly seen. He opined here "We should test every one from a city with mass infection, e.g. Daegu, within 14 days even when there is no symptom."

 This means that "We must ditch 'Get test when you have symptoms.', and introduce 'Go to a triage room if you are coming from a mass-infected city.'"