"If Seoul reports more than 30 confirmed cases per day for three consecutive days, social distancing measures should be reinstated"

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon Urges Citizens' Voluntary Restraint and Vigilance

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Regarding the recent sharp increase in confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Seoul and the metropolitan area, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon announced that social distancing measures would be reinstated if the situation worsens.

Mayor Park held a briefing at Seoul City Hall on the 22nd and said, "If the daily average number of new confirmed cases in Seoul exceeds 30 for three consecutive days after today, or if the hospital bed occupancy rate reaches 70%, placing a burden on the public healthcare system, we will have no choice but to return to the previous social distancing measures."

He added, "Above all, we have done well so far, and all countries around the world have praised Korea's K-quarantine system. Shouldn't we maintain that reputation until the end? No matter how well we performed in the first half, what good is it if we concede a large number of goals in the second half?"

Mayor Park conveyed concerns from infectious disease experts that if the COVID-19 situation continues to worsen, the number of new daily confirmed cases in South Korea could reach around 800 within a month.

He stated, "From April 30 to June 11, the nationwide average of the reproduction number (the number of other patients infected by one patient) sharply increased to 1.79," and warned, "If a second large-scale outbreak occurs, whether in summer, fall, or overlapping with the winter flu season, the current medical quarantine system could collapse, leading to the worst-case scenario."

He also said, "Seoul's quarantine strategy is to strengthen the '3T' of test-trace-treat and to block the '3Cs' of closed spaces, crowded places, and close-contact settings," and appealed, "We ask all citizens to maintain vigilance and self-restraint equivalent to social distancing in practice."

Mayor Park also announced that Seoul City will establish an Epidemiological Investigation Office, a Quarantine Management Team, and an Infectious Disease Research Center in July to enhance research and tracking capabilities for infectious disease response.

He emphasized, "Although restrictions on entertainment facilities were eased to gathering limits last week, in fact, quarantine rules were applied more strictly," and added, "Enhanced 11 quarantine rules such as limits on the number of people per area and advance reservation systems are being enforced, and 300 life quarantine officers are deployed to check in real time, so practically, the measures have been strengthened."

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