DAEGU, South Korea—More than three months after Covid-19 cases peaked here, local transmissions have all but disappeared from South Korea’s hardest-hit city. Still, Daegu looks far from relaxed.
Street musicians belt out tunes wearing face masks. College students returning to their dormitories couldn’t enter without first getting a coronavirus test. Large gatherings remain banned. And 300 hospital beds are left unused, just in case the virus suddenly strikes again.
Outside China, few places have endured the coronavirus fight as long as Daegu, where infections began snowballing in mid-February. But the South Korean city hasn’t lost patience for the safeguards that reversed one of the Covid-19 pandemic’s early major outbreaks. The opposite has occurred: it has acclimated to the extra rigor.
Daegu residents must wear face masks in public, a stricter policy than in the rest of the country.
Daegu’s prolonged caution suggests some virus-stricken cities may be hesitant to spring back to normal, even when the coast seems relatively clear. About three-fifths of South Korea’s roughly 12,000 confirmed cases hail from Daegu, a city of 2.4 million. Daily cases there haven’t exceeded 10 in roughly two months.
Some locals like Ju Hae-dong, 44, are comfortable with local social-distancing restrictions that exceed South Korea’s national guidelines. Mr. Ju, who recently reopened his Chinese restaurant after having closed for two months, said the saga has left him feeling numb about the coronavirus.
He had to lay off four of his five employees. But he is now content scraping by just enough to pay rent and buy ingredients. “I have to keep moving on with my life,” said Mr. Ju. “But I expect the government to be prepared.”
Ju Hae-dong, who recently reopened his Chinese restaurant, says he is content scraping by.
Choi Han-kook, who owns a Lacoste shop, is worried a return of mass infections would drive away customers.
Choi Han-kook, owner of a Lacoste shop in a popular Daegu shopping district, never closed his doors but is now most worried that a return of mass infections could again drive away consumers. To prevent potential disease spread, Mr. Choi’s workers keep a safe distance from shoppers perusing the merchandise.
“I would rather the government take strict measures like requiring people to wear masks because it makes everyone feel safer,” Mr. Choi, 38, said.
South Korea experienced the biggest Covid-19 outbreak apart from China in February and March. Daegu’s single-day peak of 741 cases on Feb. 29 surpassed that of any other city in the world that day. South Korea succeeded at flattening the infection curve, in Daegu and elsewhere, by testing widely and using tech-heavy tactics to trace the disease across the population.
Social-distancing measures were relaxed nationwide in early May. But in recent weeks, fresh clusters totaling hundreds of cases have emerged largely in the Seoul metropolitan area, at logistic centers, night clubs and schools.
Daegu, about 180 miles southeast of Seoul, has kept operating much as it did when it was South Korea’s outbreak center.
Daegu is operating much as it did when it was the center of South Korea’s outbreak.
The Chilseong night market in Daegu was recently reopened.
Daegu residents must wear face masks in public, rather than follow the national policy that only suggests people use them. Locals are required to get tested immediately if they show any virus symptoms, such as coughing, rather than stay home when feeling ill as the broader guidelines recommend. Daegu still conducts more than 2,000 Covid-19 tests a day.
Daegu officials for the past month have held biweekly video calls with around 200 city residents to discuss school reopenings and weigh the potential risks at vulnerable facilities like nursing homes.
The city is preparing for a potential second wave of infections. It has already stashed away two weeks worth of medical equipment and supplies and plans to hire more health investigators. Officials have modeled how many hospital beds would be needed under a variety of scenarios.
“We knew nothing about Covid-19 and experienced a mass outbreak without any preparations. Now we’re perfectly prepared for a prolonged fight,” said Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin.
The discipline has given some extra confidence to a city that once resembled a ghost town.
Shopkeepers in Seomun Market, Daegu’s largest marketplace, have regained around 80% of their customers in recent weeks, after seeing revenues plummet during February and March, according to Kim Young-oh, president of the Daegu Merchant Association.
Noodle stalls in Seomun Market.
On a recent afternoon, the market was cautiously vibrant. Spicy rice cakes sizzled in food-stall grills, while families hunched over plates of the city’s signature flat dumplings. But volunteers patrolled the grounds, wearing sashes that read, “Please wear masks.” Shopkeepers and patrons shouted to be heard through their face masks.
“I feel less fear about the coronavirus now because we’ve seen patients hospitalized and recover,” said Jin Kyung-man, 60, who sells traditional hanbok dresses at the market.
During Daegu’s darkest days, hundreds of medical staff, firefighters and military conscripts traveled to the city as volunteers. Companies lent dormitories to be turned into makeshift hospitals for asymptomatic patients. Officials were proud of how they quickly secured 5,000 hospital beds, after several confirmed patients died awaiting admission.
“People are roaming the streets again because they have trust in the government’s prevention model,” said Min Pok-kee, who heads South Korea’s Covid-19 response team in Daegu.
Write to Dasl Yoon at dasl.yoon@wsj.com
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