key: cord-0931843-67594g2q authors: Choe, Young June; Lee, Jong-Koo title: The Impact of Social Distancing on the Transmission of Influenza Virus, South Korea, 2020 date: 2020-06-03 journal: Osong Public Health Res Perspect DOI: 10.24171/j.phrp.2020.11.3.07 sha: b8622e714d2c74a186c1fccfaefef34b0ed8f077 doc_id: 931843 cord_uid: 67594g2q nan Since the first case of coronavirus disease 2019 was reported in the Republic of Korea on January 20 th , 2020, a surge in cases has followed, resulting in 10,683 confirmed cases and 237 deaths, as of April 21 st , 2020 [1] . Amid the global crisis caused by the pandemic, various public health interventions have been introduced in Korea from advice about social distancing, and personal hygiene, to testing for the virus, contact tracing, and isolation and quarantine measures [2, 3] . February [4] and aimed to reduce disease transmission, thereby reducing pressure on the health services. Empirical evidence during the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic has shown social distancing resulted in lowering the curve of the epidemic [5] . In South Korea, national surveillance of influenza comprises of 200 sentinel sites that report the percentage of visits to healthcare centers due to influenza-like-illness (ILI), and 52 sentinel sites that send respiratory specimens from patients with ILI to national laboratories [6] . The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. Central Disease Control Headquarters Republic of Korea Development and utilization of a rapid and accurate epidemic investigation support system for COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease-19: Quarantine Framework for Travelers Entering Korea Association of Public Health Interventions with the Epidemiology of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Wuhan, China Nonpharmaceutical interventions implemented by US cities during the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic The National Influenza Surveillance System of Korea Impact assessment of nonpharmaceutical interventions against coronavirus disease 2019 and influenza in Hong Kong: An observational study