Prime Minister Jeong: "Strict Measures Against Illegal Acts Threatening Community Life and Safety" (Update)

"COVID-19 Cases Reach Highest in Over 5 Months... Government Considers All Measures"

Prime Minister Jeong Sye-kyun (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on the 16th, "We will thoroughly investigate illegal activities that threaten the life and safety of the community and take strict and resolute measures according to the law and principles."

At the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting on COVID-19 held at the Government Seoul Office on the same day, Prime Minister Chung said, "Some churches are showing uncooperative behavior toward quarantine authorities' epidemiological investigations, quarantine measures, and diagnostic tests."

He expressed concern, saying, "The number of daily confirmed COVID-19 cases has exceeded 100 for three consecutive days. In particular, yesterday, 279 cases were confirmed, marking the highest number in about five months."

He added, "In the past three days, 90% of new confirmed cases occurred in the metropolitan area, and infections originating from some churches account for nearly 70% of these. Many citizens are worried that the Daegu-Gyeongbuk outbreak, which began with the Shincheonji cluster infection in February, might be repeated in the metropolitan area."

He emphasized, "We will take all possible measures to quickly block the spread in the metropolitan area."

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight on the day, the number of new domestic COVID-19 confirmed cases was 279. Following 103 cases on the 14th and 166 cases on the 15th, the number again reached triple digits. The total number of new confirmed cases over three days is 548.

Prime Minister Chung stated, "The most important factors in early suppression of the current spread are rapid testing, thorough quarantine, and meticulous contact tracing. No matter how hard the government tries, without active participation and cooperation from each church, we cannot overcome the current crisis."

He continued, "Along with the efforts of the government and local governments, we ask the church community to strengthen voluntary quarantine measures with a responsible attitude. We urge each church and congregation member to become a quarantine commander themselves and strictly adhere to quarantine rules."

Furthermore, he said, "As confirmed cases in the metropolitan area are rapidly increasing, there could be problems in treatment and contact management for these individuals. Metropolitan local governments should promptly activate a joint response system, and quarantine authorities must ensure thorough support."

Prime Minister Chung also said, "The longest rainy season in history, lasting 54 days, ended today. The government will make every effort to quickly restore damages so that disaster victims can return to their daily lives as soon as possible."

He added, "We will conduct a thorough cause analysis of the issues revealed during this heavy rain and prepare permanent measures to prevent recurrence."

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