Characteristics of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Korea From the Mass Infection Perspective

On December 31, 2019, the Chinese government officially announced that the country had some cases of pneumonia with an unknown cause. By February 8, 2020, there were 24 confirmed cases in Korea, and the number of cases has steadily increased since then. On March 9, 2020, the cumulative number of confirmed cases in Korea was 7382, with 51 deaths. This study examines the characteristics of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak from the perspective of the large-scale number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths. This study is significant in that it emphasizes the precautionary principle in preventing and managing infectious diseases, and makes suggestions for urgently needed public health policies.