식약처, 코로나19 치료제 '렘데시비르'특례 수입 승인... 49명 확진<br /><br />Doctors in South Korea now have another option at their disposal in the fight against COVID-19 as the nation has approved the import of Gilead Sciences' remdesivir.<br />The decision comes as the drug originally created combat Ebola has been in use for the coronavirus in countries including the U.S. and Japan.<br />Meanwhile, health authorities here reported 49 new cases - most of them from the Seoul metropolitan area.<br />Kim Sung-min with the details.<br />South Korea's Food and Drug Safety administration approved a special import on Wednesday for the drug Remdesivir.<br />It said the drug has been approved for special treatments, and that it has been proven effective in other countries, where it has shortened the recovery time of some COVID-19 patients.<br />The decision comes as South Korea reported 49 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, with 48 of the cases coming from the Seoul metropolitan area.<br />There was one additional death reported... bringing the death toll to 273.<br />A new cluster has emerged at a church in Incheon. 55 cases were linked to the church as of Wednesday.<br />Amid the new cases, the government said it is still too early to toughen the measures.<br />"As of now, our medical facilities can control the spread, but considering the clusters I have mentioned before, we will have to do further analysis."<br />Wednesday was also the third phase of school reopenings.<br />78 students and teachers have caught COVID-19 from private academies since February, but the Education Ministry said it has no authority to penalize academies that failed to follow the measures.<br />It said it wished to change the law to give it authority, while the KCDC reiterated the importance of businesses following proper measures.<br />"We ask business operators to strictly follow the quarantine measures especially at main infection routes for students such as private academies, singing rooms, and internet cafes..."<br />During the briefing, the KCDC also said the two possible cases of Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome in Children did not have the mysterious condition, but were rather confirmed as having Kawasaki disease.<br />Meanwhile, the government asked for people who have recovered from COVID-19 to donate their blood, which contains coronavirus antibodies, so that this can be used for vaccine research.<br />Kim Sung-min, Arirang News<br />
