SOUTH KOREA - Exceptional Success on Coronavirus
In South Korea, churches resumed in-person services and stadiums welcomed sports fans as the country once again manages to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The government eased social distancing restrictions after the country apparently dodged a surge in cases that was feared to follow the Chuseok national holiday in early October.
President Moon Jae-in noted South Korea’s “exceptional” success in overcoming “what could have been the biggest threat yet,” in contrast to other countries struggling with a continuing upsurge.
To ensure its pandemic response is effective and sustainable, Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said South Korea will “minimize extreme measures,” such as shutting down businesses, and will reinforce “precision prevention” tailored to individual risks.
South Korea lifted its assembly ban on large groups, reopened buffet restaurants, nightclubs and karaokes—venues categorized as high risk—and expanded in-person attendance at schools while upgrading detailed disease prevention guidelines for each facility.
The South Korean government can now enforce mask-wearing in public transportation, hospitals and rallies, and more quickly punish business owners and citizens who flout the rules, thanks to the revised disease control laws that took effect.
-www.npr.org, 19 October 2020
Arno's commentary
South Korea indeed can claim exceptional success among the rich and industrialized nations. With about 52 million in population, the religious makeup is 20% Protestant Christian, 15.5% Buddhist, 7.9% Catholic, and a lopsided 56.9% claim no religious affiliation. Life expectancy stands at 82.6 years, with a per capita GDP of $40,000, resulting in $577.3 billion in exports, and $457.7 billion in imports (2017 estimate).
Coronavirus related deaths stands at 0.87 per 100,000 in population (USA: 67.28). Quite apparently, strict adherence to prevailing government orders (based on the latest medical science) has saved South Koreans from the consequences other countries exhibit when it comes to Covid-19 deaths and the related effects.
Here 1 Peter 2:13 is applicable: “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme.”
Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight Call Ministries and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call and News From Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecy conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. His extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy, as he sees it from an international perspective.
