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Medical personnel at work at a screening clinic in Seoul’s Seongbuk District on Aug. 17. (Park Jong-shik, staff photographer)

The long weekend that began with a new surge of COVID-19 cases has come to an end. In just a few short days, many things have changed. In short, the crisis got rapidly worse. The daily tally of new COVID-19 cases stayed in the triple digits for four days in a row, and the number of new cases on Aug. 15 shot up to 279. As it so happened, a huge demonstration was held in downtown Seoul that very day, a demonstration where participants didn’t follow disease control guidelines. On the same day, the government tightened its social distancing rules to level two. After the long weekend, the daily grind looks much grimmer.

On Aug. 17, South Korea’s Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) reported that 197 new COVID-19 cases had been diagnosed on Aug. 16. That was 82 fewer than the day before, but still quite a high level. The same risks apply.

Jung Eun-kyeong, director of South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), said she didn’t think the modest decline in cases was meaningful. “If we can’t stop this now, our disease control resources will be hard-pressed to keep up with the spread. We need to bring the situation under control before it deteriorates,” Jung said, emphasizing the gravity of the situation.

As of Monday, the total number of confirmed cases connected to Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul, under head pastor Jun Kwang-hoon, had reached 438. The disease is spreading even faster there than at the Shincheonji religious sect. Shockingly enough, the church apparently hosted a summer camp at which members slept at the church for days on end. Church members have transmitted the disease to people in other parts of the country, who are then passing it on to others.

Despite all that, more than 600 members of the church still haven’t been tested for the disease. Rumors are spreading that members of Sarang Jeil Church are being automatically diagnosed with COVID-19, even if they’re not infected. Church members need to ignore such antisocial rumors and get tested to protect not only themselves but also their family members.

The South Korean government is still maintaining social distancing at level two — or more precisely, level 1.5. Twelve kinds of high-risk facilities are still in business, and most of the major health guidelines are still only recommendations. The transmission routes in the current outbreak are more complicated than during the Shincheonji or Itaewon club outbreaks, and a higher percentage of the infected are asymptomatic or only have mild symptoms. Ten people have tested positive at Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, the world’s largest protestant church with 560,000 registered members. We’ve already reached a situation where controlling the disease takes priority to people’s everyday routines and economic concerns.

Social distancing is supposed to be elevated to the third level when the daily caseload doubles two times. That would bring many changes, just as the impact of an earthquake rises exponentially with each level of magnitude. Meetings of 10 or more people would be banned, all sporting events would be called off, and religious services and educational classes would have to move online. That would inevitably have a huge economic impact. Reaching the third level of social distancing would imply that our disease control capabilities are being overwhelmed and that we’re running out of hospital beds. The greatest victim, needless to say, would be the Korean public.

The government can impose tough disease control rules, but if individuals don’t obey those rules, the virus will slip through the cracks in the disease control regime. The rules aren’t complicated. “Please stick to the basics,” Jung said on Aug. 17: wear masks over the face and nose, wash your hands thoroughly, and postpone unnecessary meetings, events, and trips or hold them remotely. Korean citizens are the last line of defense at this critical point in the second wave.

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]