How South Korea’s early coronavirus success left it struggling to contain latest wave
- This new wave is more persistent and widespread than any of the previous surges, and has led to an unprecedented spike in deaths
- Unlike previous waves of infections, the current surge of cases is being driven by smaller clusters at places like restaurants and offices, which are harder to trace
On the fourth floor of the Incheon city hall, South Korean epidemiological investigator Jang Hanaram’s office is stuffed with six desks, two folding cots, and a table strewn with instant noodles, energy drinks and digestive aids.
Jang is one of six staffers who work 24-hour shifts in the cramped space, frantically tracing and contacting potential coronavirus cases in South Korea’s third largest city as the country battles its largest wave of infections yet.
Jang said he knew this wave was different in early December when the bright red messages that report confirmed cases began to multiply in the chat room on his computer screen.
“I thought, ‘Wow, this is really getting out of control’,” he said.
But after a summer of touting South Korea’s approach as a model for the world, officials acknowledge the success of those earlier efforts helped fuel overconfidence that left them straining to contain a third wave and scrambling to defend a cautious vaccine timeline.