Discussion
Among the Korean patients, 15 were men (53.9%). It has been reported that 56%–73.2% of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China are in men [4,5]. The estimated incubation period was 4.6 days to develop COVID-19, which was shorter than the period of 5.2 days reported in China [5]. The mean age of the Korean patients was 42.6 years, which was lower than the age reported in previous studies conducted in China (49 years, 55.5 years, and 59 years) [2,4,5].
Chen et al [2] and Huang et al [4] also reported that 32–51% of the hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 had hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, while 10 of the 28 Korean patients (35.7%) had at least 1 underlying disease, including hypertension and diabetes. In addition, the early symptoms, such as a fever, coughing, a sore throat, the chills, and muscle ache, were similar to the reported symptoms of COVID-19 [4].
Currently, the COVID-19 cases originating in Korea have been reported to be index cases imported from abroad, and resultant first-generation and second-generation cases. So far, all the patients confirmed to have COVID-19 have identifiable epidemiological connections. In other words, cases of secondary infection were limited to closely related people (family and acquaintances) who spent time together co-dining and co-habiting. It is important to analyze and share such epidemiological and clinical data on COVID-19 to establish an effective response strategy.