Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun: "If Infections Continue in Religious Facilities, Designation as High-Risk Facilities Is Inevitable"

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is presiding over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting on COVID-19 at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 1st. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun stated that as the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is spreading mainly in religious facilities, if quarantine rules are not properly followed, these places may inevitably be designated as high-risk facilities.

At the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting on the 1st, Prime Minister Chung emphasized, "Recently, infection cases through religious facilities such as churches and temples have occurred daily regardless of whether in the metropolitan area or non-metropolitan areas, and the proportion of infections from religious facilities among new confirmed cases in the past three days exceeds 40%."

He continued, "Cluster infections in religious facilities mostly occur because the most basic quarantine rules, such as wearing masks and practicing social distancing, are not properly observed," adding, "In large-scale worship services or Buddhist ceremonies with many participants, quarantine rules must be strictly followed, and other religious activities that cause close contact, such as small gatherings and retreats, should be refrained from as much as possible."

Regarding the continuous occurrence of imported confirmed cases, he also mentioned strengthening quarantine measures. Prime Minister Chung said, "The cluster infection case that occurred on a Russian vessel that docked in Busan last week served as an opportunity to identify gaps in port quarantine," and added, "The government will expand the quarantine management areas, which were previously limited to five locations including China, Hong Kong, and Italy, to worldwide, and will further strengthen boarding quarantine considering the risk level of each country."

He further stated, "We will conduct diagnostic tests at all 11 port quarantine stations to thoroughly block the inflow of COVID-19 through ships," and urged, "The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and related agencies, as well as quarantine authorities, should continuously check and supplement measures to ensure they are properly implemented on site."

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