The world admires Korea as it reduces from 900 new cases of Covid-19 to 18, and people indulge in coffee and picnics after months of being indoors.

Busy cafes, parks full of people sitting in the sun and the only Apple Store in the country reopened to see a long line of people lined up outside – most wearing masks. The above scenes are showing that everything seems to be awakened after months Korean people have to isolate themselves at home to prevent Covid-19.

The scene in Seoul in yesterday’s picture is in stark contrast to the tranquility of many other countries – where big cities are referred to as “ghost cities” because of a blockade or a ban on crowds. Strict to limit the spread of Covid-19.

View of Han River Park in Seoul on April 18.

As one of the places affected by the corona virus at one time when it was the country with the second highest number of Covid-19 cases globally, South Korea tried to control the spread of the virus without taking measures. France is too strict. The government does not require businesses to close or ban people from traveling.

Although the government still advised people to stay indoors and issued a warning about the risk of an outbreak again, yesterday, many South Koreans still ventured out because they believed the worst point of the pandemic. finished.

“I went out for the first time in many days to go on a date with my girlfriend. It’s not because I feel safer, it’s just that I feel more comfortable going out because the number of new infections has dropped sharply.” Ji-hoon, 28, said.

South Korea has implemented extensive testing and social exposure monitoring campaigns, all of which have been effective in curbing the spread of disease, helping businesses and The factory is not closed. The number of new Covid-19 cases fell to 18 on Friday, the lowest level since the outbreak in late February when the number of daily infections reached more than 900.

While both the United States and South Korea confirmed their first case of Covid-19 at the end of January, the number of infections in the US has now increased to more than 700,000 while South Korea has “flattened the curve”. last month and the number of infections is at 10,000.

Korean people crowded the streets.

In the Han River Park, Banpo District, families – most of them wearing masks – are leisurely sunbathing, around them, kids flying kites. The park has more people and cars are lining up outside the parking lot.

Shin Bo-ram – a banker decided to venture out on Saturday with his wife and two children – who was too tired to stay indoors after schools closed.

“I live right in front of the park but I have tried not to come here since the outbreak. And when the weather is so nice today, and the number of infections has slowed, I see more people coming here. Probably everyone thinks the same as me. ”

Public confidence is partly bolstered by parliamentary elections last Wednesday. Everything went smoothly without any problems and so far there have been no cases of Covid-19 related to the election.

President Moon Jae-in’s ruling party won absolute thanks to the efforts of helping Korea gain international attention in the fight against Covid-19.

“We have done a pretty good job of preventing disease – it’s finding patients and implementing quarantine measures – thanks to our previous experience fighting the MERS epidemic,” said Kim Yoon, a professor of health policy and management at Seoul National Medical University.

The “new normal” period

Apple praised South Korea when it announced the reopening of the only Apple Store store in the country: “Korea showed great progress during the time of the Covid-19 outbreak.”

The Apple Store in Gangnam is the first location outside of China to reopen since it had to close all its stores in March to help prevent the spread of the disease. Apple also reopened a few stores in China last month after the number of infections fell sharply.

Like many restaurants and shops in the country, Apple requires customers to wear a mask, stand 2 meters away while waiting, and have their body temperature checked before entering.

A line of people lined up outside the Apple Store on April 18.

Still, economic worries persist. That can be clearly seen when a few stores are still closed and some dealers say they still witness a sharp decline in customers and consumers.

“This is a psychological issue. People still wear masks and are afraid to interact with strangers so they will often leave the store very quickly after buying what they need,” said Ahn, a manager of a cosmetic shop. . He further revealed that the number of visitors to the store at this time was only 10% of normal.

One block away from the Apple Store, the owner of a clothing store, Park Choon Kweon, said that he had seen more people on the street these days but most people were still reluctant to visit the store.

“We are stuck in this situation, unable to do anything to improve the business situation,” said Park, who had to close a clothing store last month.

Concerned about the potential for a “second wave of spread”, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still encourages people to continue to follow guidelines for social distance and personal hygiene on occasions. weekend.

South Korean Deputy Minister of Health Kim Ganglip emphasized, “We cannot ignore vigilance when there is still a high potential for infection. We believe that people need to continue to abide by social spacing and absolutely not relax. loose that “.

Kim also said the South Korean government is drafting guidelines for the “new normal” period, including revising quarantine procedures and social isolation measures.

“Korea has succeeded in delaying the spread of Covid-19 through social dislocation. But that doesn’t mean the virus has completely disappeared or we can get back to life.” like before, “Vice Minister Kim said.