South Korea, Germany, and China earned praises in effectively cutting the source of the novel coronavirus. These countries have also lead the world in reopening economies that are heavily ravaged by strict lockdown measures implemented amid the pandemic.
Elsewhere in the world, these three nations became the template on how the virus should be addressed. Economies looked forward to, like the three nations, reopen the industries soon.
However, South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Sunday confirmed that a new cluster of coronavirus cases occurred in Seoul. The country reported 34 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, the highest it had after a month.
Twenty-four of the new cases originated from Seoul's Itaewon district where a 29-year-old man who tested positive for the virus bar-hopped in five nightclubs. The health authorities now estimate the man has infected 1,500 more people.
South Korea has since dismissed plans of fully easing lockdown measures with President Moon saying the country should therefore not let its guard down against the virus.
China on Monday has also renewed tough restrictions after two cities reported new case of the virus. Shulan in Jilin Province, bordering Russia and North Korea, has been put under lockdown after 11 new cases were reported.
Wuhan, the original epicenter of the virus in December, has also recorded five new cases, all of which are suspected to be locally transmitted. Wuhan lifted its lockdown late in April.
With its robust health system and abrupt actions amid the pandemic, Germany had also been a model for the world. However, the country saw a spike in its confirmed cases days after easing lockdown. Now, the German government imposed a "snap-back" method wherein any county reaching 50 new cases per 100,000 residents will be immediately placed under lockdown.
In his speech on Monday, the World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom highlighted how several counties that have lifted restrictions have now seen a jump in COVID-19 cases. Pointing to South Korea, China, and Germany, the director-general cautioned that before any country begins to ease lockdowns, it should have tested the majority of its citizens, traced everyone with contact to the infected person, and set-up an isolated facility.
Tedros added that antibody studies show that only a low portion of those who recovered from the virus developed immunity against it.
Indeed, in France, there were almost four times the higher number of COVID-19 deaths on Monday compared to Sunday. Infections more than doubled after the country relaxes coronavirus restrictions. There were 263 new deaths on Monday compared to 70 on Sunday. That's 1% increase in deaths which is the highest the country has gotten in five days.
