"No Restrictions on Public Movement During Chuseok Holiday? No Such Review Conducted (Update)"

Yoon Tae-ho, Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters' Quarantine General Division, is conducting a regular briefing on COVID-19 response. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] In response to some reports that the government is considering restricting people's movement during this year's Chuseok holiday period to minimize the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the government has drawn a clear line, stating that "there has been no internal review whatsoever."

Yoon Tae-ho, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters' quarantine team, emphasized this during the regular COVID-19 briefing held at the Government Complex Sejong on the 25th, saying, "Since a significant amount of movement by the public is expected during the Chuseok holiday period, various measures are being prepared, but movement restrictions have not been considered at all."

Yoon explained, "Currently, we are reviewing how to minimize and block the transmission of infection if people move during the Chuseok holiday," adding, "We are examining stricter measures such as mandatory mask-wearing when using trains or public transportation during travel, and how to disperse visits to ancestral graves or columbariums to reduce crowd density."

Regarding raising the current social distancing level from level 2 to level 3, he maintained a cautious stance. Yoon said, "Efforts to find a balance between daily life and quarantine measures are continuously being discussed and actions are being taken at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters level," adding, "We need to observe this week's situation more closely to see whether the spread in the metropolitan area or nationwide continues."

He emphasized, "Some are calling for stronger measures, and we are continuously discussing this with the Central Disease Control Headquarters while reviewing necessary actions at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters level," adding, "The most important factor will likely be how much the number of confirmed cases decreases during this week." He also urged, "Please strictly follow basic quarantine rules such as active participation in social distancing and wearing masks."

As of midnight on the day, the number of new domestic COVID-19 cases was 280, an increase of 14 from the previous day's 266, but the number of confirmed cases decreased for two consecutive days compared to the 300s over the past weekend. Yoon said, "Although the number of cases has somewhat decreased compared to the weekend, it is necessary to observe the trend a little longer to determine whether this is the effect of the level 2 social distancing measures implemented since last Wednesday."

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