Health Authorities Urge Restraint on Gatherings, Events, and Travel During the 4th Week of April and Early May Golden Holiday (Comprehensive)

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[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The government has urged people to refrain from gatherings, events, and travel during the golden holiday period from the 30th of this month to Children's Day next month, warning of the risk of a resurgence of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

Park Neung-hoo, First Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of Health and Welfare), said at a regular briefing on the 26th, "It is expected that many citizens are preparing for travel or gatherings during the holiday period from late April to early May, and we are concerned that COVID-19, which has been gradually controlled, may resurge. We ask that you refrain from gatherings, events, and travel as much as possible until May 5."

According to Deputy Head Park, the average daily number of new COVID-19 cases in the country decreased from 25 last week to 9.3 this week. With the recovery rate exceeding 80%, the number of patients undergoing isolation treatment has also decreased to the 1,000 range since the 24th. As of midnight on that day, there were 1,769 patients in isolation treatment.

Deputy Head Park said, "Analyzing the 8,717 patients who have been released from isolation so far, the treatment period ranges from a minimum of 2 days to a maximum of 59 days, with an average of about 25 days before isolation is lifted. If this trend continues, the number of isolated patients will decrease to below 1,000 by late May or early June."

Among the 65 new cases this week, 6 patients (9.2%) had unknown infection routes. The proportion of patients detected within the management system, such as those confirmed while in isolation, slightly improved to about 80%. There was one cluster outbreak last week and two this week, but no large-scale resurgence occurred.

Deputy Head Park explained, "To use quarantine resources efficiently, we are organizing residential treatment centers and infectious disease-dedicated hospitals. The central government's residential treatment centers will be gradually scaled down by the end of April, but local governments will prepare their own centers according to the standard model provided by the government and be ready to expand them in times of crisis."

He continued, "For myself, my family, and our society, individual quarantine efforts must continue to safely get through the holiday period and maintain the calming trend of COVID-19. Although the domestic quarantine management situation is gradually improving, the end of the global COVID-19 pandemic is not easily foreseeable, and it is expected to take a long time until vaccines and treatments are developed."

Furthermore, Deputy Head Park emphasized, "To pass through the seemingly endless tunnel of COVID-19, we must successfully implement the unfamiliar response system of transitioning to daily quarantine and social distancing in daily life. Social distancing in daily life does not aim for the complete eradication of COVID-19 but to control it at a level manageable by our healthcare system. For this, many things we used to enjoy in daily life will be restricted."

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