Prime Minister Jeong: "Discussion on Transition to Living Quarantine This Week... It Does Not Mean Returning to Previous Life"

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is delivering opening remarks at the 'Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters Meeting for COVID-19 Response' held on the 13th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on the 13th, "This week, we plan to evaluate the results of the intensive social distancing measures implemented so far and discuss whether to transition to everyday quarantine."

Prime Minister Chung presided over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting on COVID-19 response held at the Government Seoul Office and stated, "An important week has begun."

He explained, "Everyday quarantine does not mean a return to life before COVID-19. It may be quite possible that we can never return to the same daily life as before. Everyday quarantine means maintaining social distancing at a necessary intensity to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission while carrying out a certain level of economic and social activities."

He added, "Since the risk level is higher than now, the evaluation and outlook of the medical community and quarantine experts on whether the conditions for transition have been met are important."

Prime Minister Chung emphasized, "It may take longer than many people expect, and it may need to be done in several phases. We need to gather opinions from various sectors such as education, industry, labor, culture, and religion to create guidelines that can be sustained over a long period."

He also expressed concern about the risk of transmission between self-quarantined individuals and their families. He said, "During the self-quarantine period, family members may become infected, and those family members may spread the virus to the local community. Many local governments are already providing separate quarantine facilities or partnering with local lodging businesses to offer affordable accommodations to families of self-quarantined individuals."

He urged, "Self-quarantined individuals and their families should live separately as much as possible and try to avoid contact. Those who frequently interact with the community, such as workers in multi-use facilities and self-employed persons, should be especially cautious."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.