COVID-19 Is Now Preventable, Treatable, and Controllable. What Happens Next Is Up to Us
TimeOct 19, 2022
The Facts
South Korea's daily new COVID cases jumped to >80k Tues., up from >34k reported Mon., concurrent with the lifting of most pandemic restrictions. This figure is still significantly lower than the peak of its Omicron wave on Mar. 17, when daily infections stood at >621k.
SK's COVID death toll increased by 82 from on Tues., to a total of 22,325. The country is still maintaining its 0.13% death rate - which is one of the world's lowest.
The Spin
Left narrative
While it's great that South Korea is beginning to return to normalcy, the pandemic is still lingering and the mask mandate is prudently in place. While it's important to make strides to return to pre-pandemic life, many people are understandably cautious.
Right narrative
South Korea knows it can't indefinitely withstand the pandemic fatigue and frustrations of its people. Social distancing is not a sustainable long-term solution, and South Korea should be praised for balancing physical risks with the mental health and economic toll of COVID restrictions.
![[Newsmaker] New omicron BA.2 subvariant begins to show in Korea](https://res.heraldm.com/content/image/2022/04/26/20220426000778_0.jpg)
