Prime Minister Jeong: "People's Safety First, Doing Our Best to Ensure Timely Vaccination"

"Preparation including priority vaccination target selection, storage and distribution system setup"
"Masks are the best vaccine... Please strictly follow them anytime, anywhere"

Prime Minister Jeong Sye-kyun

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun stated, "The government prioritizes the safety of the people above all else and will do its utmost to ensure that the secured vaccines are administered in a timely manner while closely monitoring the situations in other countries." He added, "We are meticulously preparing the selection of priority vaccination groups, the establishment of storage and distribution systems, post-monitoring, and emergency response systems."

At the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting on COVID-19 held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office, Prime Minister Chung said, "As reported to the public yesterday, the government has secured 44 million doses of overseas vaccines."

He emphasized, "It seems more time is needed until the COVID-19 vaccination proceeds smoothly and the expected effects are verified," adding, "Until then, masks are the best vaccine."

He continued, "In a church gathering in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, where about 700 people participated, there was no additional transmission except for confirmed cases due to thorough mask-wearing," and noted, "Similar cases have been confirmed in taxis, elevators, hospitals, and various other places."

He urged, "I ask the public to remember that the moment you take off your mask is the most dangerous," and requested, "Please strictly follow the rule of 'no talking while eating or drinking, and wearing a mask during conversations' anytime and anywhere."

Prime Minister Chung explained, "As the COVID-19 crisis continues, the worries of small business owners and self-employed individuals are deepening," and said, "The tailored COVID-19 support budget of over 3 trillion won, recently passed with bipartisan cooperation in the National Assembly, is intended to help small business owners and the self-employed who are facing difficulties."

He then ordered, "Each ministry should prepare budget execution plans in advance by the end of the year and make thorough preparations so that support can be provided immediately at the beginning of next year."

In conclusion, Prime Minister Chung stated, "The spread of COVID-19 in the metropolitan area is very serious. I believe the metropolitan area is the key battleground to curb this wave, and we will concentrate all our capabilities." He reiterated, "In addition to adjusting social distancing levels, we will devote all efforts to necessary quarantine responses such as proactive testing, epidemiological investigations, and securing hospital beds."

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