South Korean president says epidemic isn't over 'until it's over' after cases rise


South Korean President Moon Jae-in channeled Yogi Berra on Sunday, though the circumstances were much more grim.
After the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday reported 34 new coronavirus infections — the country's highest daily rise since April 9 — Moon warned about the risk of a second wave of COVID-19 later this year. "It's not over until it's over," he said of the coronavirus epidemic.
Moon said the new cluster, which emerged after a man who eventually tested positive visited multiple recently reopened night clubs in Seoul, shows how quickly the disease can spread. South Korea has drawn praise for how it has largely curbed the outbreak, but the latest development shows how difficult reopening can be, and Seoul's bars and clubs were quickly ordered shut once again.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
South Korea isn't alone — new infections continued to accelerate in Germany, which has also started to open things up slowly after responding to the initial outbreak relatively successfully, and China, where the virus originated, has reported what could be the beginning of a second wave of cases in the country's northeastern Jilin province.
Despite the rise in cases, South Korea has been able to trace most of them to the specific night clubs, highlighting its ability to track new infections, which could prove crucial in keeping a second wave far below the first one. Read more at The Wall Street Journal and Reuters.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
How China rewrote the history of its WWII victory
In Depth Though the nationalist government led China to victory in 1945, this is largely overlooked in modern Chinese commemorations
-
September 3 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Wednesday’s political cartoons include news from the war front in Ukraine, RFK Jr. riding the Grim Reaper, and a Donald Trump cabinet meeting
-
Why high-street coffee chains may have had their day
In the Spotlight Rising costs of coffee, energy and payroll, plus growing appetite for luxury drinks like matcha, has caused boom in independent and speciality coffee shops
-
Trump crypto token launch earns family billions
Speed Read The World Liberty Financial token is now the Trump family's 'most valuable asset'
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revolt
Speed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich thrower
Speed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodus
Speed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official says
Speed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judges
Speed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policing
Speed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Speed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates