The government is drawing up countermeasures against a possible “twindemic” of the seasonal flu and the persisting COVID-19 pandemic.
Senior official Lim Sook-young of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Tuesday explained in a Tuesday briefing that there is a high probability the nation will sustain simultaneous outbreaks of influenza and COVID-19 this winter.
While the prevalence of the flu was subdued due to strict social distancing over the past two years, the resulting lack of infections reduced the general immunity to the disease, which authorities believe may result in a wave of infections this winter while COVID-19 also continues to spread.
The government is monitoring the country for signs that the flu season has started, noting that it came earlier than usual in southern-hemisphere countries like Australia and New Zealand.
Amending their previous projection of another wave of COVID-19 in the fall or winter, authorities have said that the magnitude of the summer spread will likely push back the next wave to sometime later than the fall and winter period.
Source: KBS World Radio