S. Korean virus survivor now battling stigma

Park Hyun stops to catch his breath after climbing a few steps to the entrance of the engineering college of the Pusan National University where he teaches. Despite a persistent shortness of breath, he uses the stairs and avoids elevators.

Park was Busan’s “Patient 47”, one of over 5,000 South Koreans who have recovered from the coronavirus.

But 25 days after testing negative for the second time, he is in a new battle – against the stigma of having had the virus.

“I understand the concerns of my colleagues and neighbours, so I only use the stairs in this university building and even to my apartment on the ninth floor,” he said.

Park, 47, spent nine days in a special ward before being released, then spent 14 days in isolation plus 10 more days to recover his strength, but says many people around him still think of the disease first.

During his hospitalisation, Park’s mother heard a neighbour screaming in front of their home: “We’re all going to die because of a son in this family.”

Park believed suspicions in the community run deeper as a majority of the early outbreak was among the members of a secretive and controversial religious sect in Daegu, 100km northwest of Busan.

He decided to share his experience with the virus and the treatment he received to help dispel the mystery surrounding the epidemic.

He has recorded the ups and downs of his fight with the disease on Facebook since day one, saying: “By revealing my identity, I thought people would realise I am not distributing fake news. Uncertainties are too high and the anxieties are coming from uncertainties.”

The pace of South Korea’s outbreak has slowed since the explosive increase in cases through February and early March, with 9,786 cases as of yesterday.

Some 5,408 patients have been released after testing negative.

Park’s colleagues welcomed him back to work on Monday, but there were no hugs or handshakes. He eats a boxed lunch at the lab with his workmates, but uses a separate table several metres away from them. If any are worried about having him around, he says, they are doing a good job not showing it.

“Some people tested positive again after a full recovery. I am mindful of those around me,” said Park, who wears a face mask at all times.

Some discharged virus patients across the world, including South Korea, have tested positive again after recovering. The Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said these cases require further epidemiologic study.

“We are now back to normal, but things are not the same as before – we used to debate sitting close to each other while using same keyboard, which is no longer possible since the outbreak,” a colleague, Prof Ahn Seok-young, said.

Park’s first task after resuming work was to make soap boxes using 3D printers to be donated with soap to the elderly in Busan and other cities affected by the outbreak.

“Many elderly in my city are living around the poverty line and have a problem buying hand sanitisers,” Park said. — Reuters