300+ Daily Cases for Five Consecutive Days Signal Full-Scale '3rd Wave'... Metropolitan Area Social Distancing Raised to Level 2 Starting Tomorrow (Update)

Since June 20th, Suncheon City in Jeollanam-do has raised social distancing to Level 2 for the first time nationwide, and a franchise cafe in Suncheon City is showing a quiet scene. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seul-gi] The number of new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in South Korea has recorded the 300s for five consecutive days, indicating that the 'third wave' is intensifying.

In the past two weeks alone, there have been 62 cluster infections, with simultaneous outbreaks of various sizes occurring throughout daily life.

The government, judging that the spread of COVID-19 in the Seoul metropolitan area, where half of the country's population is concentrated, is serious, decided to raise the 'social distancing' level in the metropolitan area to Level 2 starting from midnight on the 24th.

Park Neung-hoo, the first head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH), said at a regular briefing on the 22nd, "Domestic COVID-19 has entered the full-scale 'third wave,'" adding, "It is a very serious and grave situation." He continued, "The community spread is rapidly expanding centered on the metropolitan area, leading to nationwide spread."

He added, "Based on this trend, the metropolitan area is expected to meet the Level 2 criterion of an average of 200 cases per day over a week by Tuesday," and explained, "The Gwangju and Honam regions are also approaching the Level 1.5 criteria."

He explained the background for raising the social distancing levels in the metropolitan and Honam regions, saying, "Considering the seriousness of the situation and the preparation time needed for raising the distancing level, there is no reason to wait for the criteria to be met within 2 to 3 days."

Meanwhile, Level 2 of 'social distancing' is raised when one of the following is met: 'more than double the Level 1.5 criteria,' 'sustained outbreaks in two or more regions,' or 'nationwide cases exceeding 300.'

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