The latest two confirmed cases of coronavirus here did not travel abroad since December of last year. The 82-year-old man and his wife had never been in contact with the existing 28 confirmed cases either. These facts raise suspicions that the new coronavirus has spread deep within Korea undetected. That means existing measures to deal with the outbreak are not working.

Such fears are also escalating in Japan as the epidemic spreads quickly throughout China. There have been 50 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection in Japan besides the 355 among passengers aboard a cruise ship docked in Yokohama. Japanese health authorities are also scratching their heads when it comes to determining the routes of infection of 10 of the confirmed cases on land, while one person in his 80s there has died from the disease. That is the result of lax quarantine measures by Japanese authorities. The U.S., European countries and Russia either cut back on or closed down flights to and from China, while some even closed off their borders to Chinese visitors. But Japan banned only visitors from Hubei Province, the epicenter of the outbreak, early this month.

The Korean government was even slower. It was not until Feb. 4 that our government banned visitors from Hubei Province. Japan has also now expanded the ban to visitors from Zhejiang Province, but Seoul is too afraid of angering Beijing. The prime minister only caused confusion when he said the government will "consider" expanding the entry ban to other parts of China.

The new cases were the first to be reported here in five days. Many people had already breathed a sigh of relief during the lull. President Moon Jae-in shook hands with traders in a bustling market without properly wearing his face mask, while the prime minister talked as if the outbreak would end soon. It is true that Korea's quarantine measures have been successful compared to other countries, but nobody can be sure as long as the country’s doors remain fully open to most visitors from China. U.S. health authorities say the coronavirus epidemic is only in its initial phase and may become an annual phenomenon. Korea needs to heed such warnings.

