Government: "COVID-19 vigilance must not be relaxed during the holidays"

The government urged that vigilance against COVID-19 should not be relaxed during the holiday period leading up to Children's Day (May 5).

On the 2nd, Son Young-rae, head of the Strategic Planning Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, emphasized at the regular briefing, "With the holidays, there has been increased movement to various regions, and many cases of not practicing social distancing or wearing masks at travel destinations have been reported." He stressed, "It is essential to strictly follow quarantine rules even during outdoor activities or travel." He warned, "Although the recent decline in COVID-19 cases has been stable, a small number of patients with unknown infection routes continue to appear," adding, "If groups of patients with unknown infection routes come into contact with other groups, transmission can spread." He further expressed concern, "If infection spreads during the holiday period, it will be impossible to maintain the stable trend, and a dangerous moment may come when the overall COVID-19 situation in Korea must be re-evaluated."

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters is inspecting the operation status of screening clinics in preparation for a resurgence of COVID-19 during the hot summer, rainy season, and autumn. The number of screening clinics has expanded from 257 locations on January 27 to 638 locations as of the 1st of this month. Among these, 65 are drive-through screening clinics. The headquarters has provided 23.3 billion KRW in support for facilities and equipment (such as negative pressure tents and mobile X-rays) and supplies to 377 medical institutions operating screening clinics.

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