Comparison of COVID-19 between Korea and Japan

Abstract

The incidence of COVID-19 infection between Korea and Japan,was compared focusing on three periods covering 2020.1~2021.10, 2021.11~2021.12, and 2022.1~2022.4. Between 2020.1 and 2021.10, by population, the incidence of COVID-19 infection in Korea had always been lower than in Japan and was called “Korean protection”, its contributing factors being as follows: 1. learning from the experience of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, 2. thorough PCR examinations, 3. comprehensive triage policy, 4. efforts of medical staff, 5. cooperation between the citizens and government. In Korea between 2021.11 and 2021.12, the number of newly infected cases, hospitalized cases, and deaths per week increased 3.5-, 2.6-, and 4.8-fold, respectively, compared with October cases. The main reason for this increase was attributed to the so-called "with corona" policy adopted by the Korean government during the same period. In contrast, during the same period, the number of newly infected cases per day dropped dramatically to less than 1,000 in Japan, attributed to the high rate of vaccination implementation and adherence to social restrictions. Between 2022.1 and 2022.4, the Omicron variant (BA1 and BA2) of COVID-19 became prevalent in both countries. Especially, since March 12, an infection explosion occurred in Korea with over 300,000 people recorded consecutively every day. During the same period, in Japan, the number of newly infected cases remained at less than one hundred thousand. Intercommunication is needed between the two countries to attain COVID-19 containment.