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Italian police and military inspect passengers at Milano Centrale railway station on Mar. 9. (Yonhap News)

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Mar. 9 that the risk of the novel coronavirus becoming a pandemic is very much becoming a reality. While outbreaks of the virus had remained confined to a relatively small number of countries and regions since its discovery in Wuhan late last year, it is now crossing over regional borders and transforming into a widespread phenomenon across the world. Globally, over 110,000 people have been diagnosed with the virus, and over 4,000 have died. Italy took the extreme step of restricting internal movement after its number of confirmed cases soared to over 7,000.

The pandemic warning came amid a clear trend of abatement, with the number of new diagnoses reported in China falling below 100. The full-scale spread of contagion in places like Europe and the US even as the Chinese situation improves is very worrying from a long-term perspective, since it translates into a greater likelihood of the virus raging in more parts of the world.

So far, the South Korean government’s disease prevention measures have placed priority on minimizing and containing transmissions of the virus within local communities. In terms of quarantines for arriving travelers, it has imposed intensified measures only for Chinese nationals. It has achieved substantial results, with the number of confirmed infections recently falling below 200 per day. At the same time, we should be paying heed to those who argue that with the pandemic risk now becoming a reality, we urgently need to develop separate and comprehensive intermediate- to long-term response measures.

The fact that a pandemic is taking shape does not mean the solution necessarily lies in expanding entry restrictions, which are of uncertain effectiveness in a global era. If every country pursues those kinds of measures, it could make the situation worse by accelerating the shock to the global economy. Instead, we need to find a middle ground based on international cooperation and systems of coordination that will allow us to prevent the contagion from spreading while ensuring the continuation of interchange and trade among countries. For example, it is worth actively considering efforts to establish an international cooperation system where testing systems are shared before and after international departures and arrivals. The system would also involve sharing clinical testing results, diagnosis kits, and medical equipment.

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