대학신문방송국

COVID-19 Outbreak: What Changed

By Jeong Hyo-bin Cub Reporter, Junior of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Since the start of 2020, the whole world has been confused by COVID-19. It is the same in HBNU. We want to look back to consider, what is COVID-19 and how has it changed us?

Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19)

COVID-19 is a respiratory infectious disease that first broke out in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and has since spread around the world. Early on, it was a respiratory epidemic whose cause was unknown. On January 9, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed COVID-19 was the cause of the pneumonia that was spreading and that it was a new type of COVID-19 (named SARS-CoV-2, February 11, 2020). 

COVID-19 transmits when an infected person’s saliva spray makes direct contact with the mucous membrane of another, via eyes, nose, or mouth. When someone is infected with the virus, there is an incubation period of 2 to 14 days and they will show signs of fever, tiredness, and a dry cough, but there have been rare examples of asymptomatic infection. As of this writing (March  2020), vaccines and treatment protocols have not yet been developed to treat COVID-19, but we have been advised that the spread can be prevented by wearing masks, washing hands frequently, and keeping social distance.

A Worldwide Situation

Initially, COVID-19 originated in Asia, then started to spread to the whole world. The WHO declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on January 30. As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased around the world, the WHO declared a pandemic on March 11. Among the WHO’s stages of danger, a pandemic is the highest degree. COVID-19 is only the third modern pandemic, after the Hong Kong flu (1968) and Swine flu (2009). The Ministry of the Interior and Safety lists data of confirmed cases by each country. As of July 1, across 206 countries, there have been a total of 10,767,635 cases confirmed, with 519,347 deaths worldwide. 

Internal Situation

Although the whole world is in a state of confusion because of COVID-19, because Korea is so near to China, let’s look at how Korea has handled this situation. At the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (KCDC) declared in mid-January 2020 there wasn’t any exposure to the local community. However, they initiated quarantine protocols. Even though they took those steps, the number of confirmed cases in Korea increased to four at the end of January. The government raised the threat level of infectious disease contaminated areas from "Caution" to "Warning." The number of confirmed cases in Korea had remained around 30 until Feb 17, when they increased exponentially due to a mass infection at the Daegu Church in Shincheonji on February 18. The government raised the threat level from "Warning" to "Serious" and started toughening up the law as a way of confronting this highly infectious disease. As of July 3, 2020, 12,967 cases were confirmed within Korea and 282 people have died. Medical staff across the country are helping care for patients, and the whole nation is gathering donations to help. The response the government is taking to overcome COVID-19 is as follows.

5-Day Rotation System for Mask Purchase

With the increasing number of confirmed cases of COVID-19, it became difficult to buy face masks and they were suddenly expensive. The government declared that 80 percent of the produced masks would be sold as public masks to stabilize the supply and demand. The public masks are to be sold at low prices with direct intervention by the state. This policy, called the 5-Day Rotation System for Mask Purchase, was implemented on March 9, 2020. People could buy masks on appointed days based on the last number of their year of birth. The 5-Day Rotation System for mask purchase ended on June 1. 

Drive-through Testing Stations

In Korea, there have been Drive-through COVID-19 testing stations since February. They are screening clinics where health professionals can examine people, collect specimens, and disinfect cars. This can prevent the spread of COVID-19 to medical staff, speed examination times, and minimize contact. The drive-through testing stations were designed for a quick and safe inspection system. The inspection process takes about 10 minutes. 

HBNU’s Response

To follow the government protocols, HBNU decided to delay, then suspend, face-to-face lectures. HBNU is also working to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The response the administration and faculty of HBNU is taking to overcome COVID-19 is as follows.

Postpone Face-To-Face Lectures and Carry Out Non-Face-To-Face Lectures

  HBNU decided to prevent students and faculty from gathering in places where social distancing could not be done safely. So, they postponed face-to-face lectures and suggested non-face-to-face lectures. There are many ways of having non-face-to-face lectures, like taking video courses, real-time online lectures, quizzes, and submitting assignments.

Video courses were hosted on the online site Cyberhanbat (cyber.hanbat.ac.kr). Students accessed the site to take their lectures. Attendance was to be accepted only if the lectures were taken within a set period of time. Assignments were submitted on the same site, also to be accepted within a set period of time. The real-time online lectures could be taken on mobile phones or PCs using ZOOM. In the case of quizzes, various methods were used, such as submitting answers by e-mail within 30 minutes, by displaying questions on the ZOOM screen within the time of the lectures and using quiz applications (such as Kahoot, Socrative, etc.) to enable responses in real-time. To make more rewarding non-face-to-face lectures, professors also explored various methods such as using Google classroom and YouTube.

▲Scene using ZOOM

Partially Opening the Library and Closing the Club Building

To prevent  spreading COVID-19, places where many people can meet introduced new safety measures. For example, the library is only partially open. Students can borrow and return books, but they can’t study in the reference library. To study in the smart lounge, all students must wear a mask. The club building (N12) is closed and will only open when the situation stabilizes. In addition, the Art Hall (N1) was closed until March 31. The gym and fitness center (S7) are also closed.

Prevention of Infectious Disease and Disinfection

   On March 3 and 4 the office spaces of the university headquarters, colleges, and affiliated facilities were disinfected. Dormitory disinfection was carried out in the second week of March, and the entire campus, including lecture rooms, was disinfected from March 25 to 27. In addition, daily disinfection has been carried out by cleaning the entrances from time to time.

Coronavirus Donations

   On March 30, HBNU delivered 234 billion won in donations collected by university members to the to the university's Red Cross. The donation was led by the secretariat and the 36th student council, with about 600 autonomous participants, including students, professors, employees, and assistant teachers raising funds over two weeks, from March 11-25. On the same day, Choi Byung-wook, the president of HBNU, said, “Our university is a regional centered national university that has grown with the region, and we will help to share the difficulties of the community and overcome them."

   To share the difficulties of the community together and overcome them, it is necessary to always think about the healthy and safety of our friends and family. We cannot be so selfish as to think, “I can go outside to dance and drink because I will not get coronavirus." We sincerely hope that the end of Covid-19 will be achieved by carrying out social distance for each other.