Government: "Level 2.5 Measures May Have Limited Effect... Level 3 Under Internal Review" (Update)

On the 15th, when 880 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported, citizens who visited the temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul Station Plaza were waiting to get tested. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The government predicted that the 2.5-level social distancing measure in the Seoul metropolitan area would not achieve significant effects.

On the 15th, Son Young-rae, head of the Strategic Planning Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH), said during an online briefing, "Considering that the application of level 2 did not show significant effects, I think similar limitations will appear with level 2.5 as well."

However, the government viewed it as too early to evaluate since level 2.5 has been in effect since the 8th. Son said, "Social distancing shows effects about 10 to 14 days later. It is still too early to evaluate. We are monitoring the situation in the latter half of this week."

He added, "As social distancing has been prolonged, public fatigue has increased, reducing the motivation to participate. Regarding mobility last week, it was almost stagnant compared to the previous week or showed a slight increase in the metropolitan area."

Regarding calls to raise the level to 3 in the metropolitan area alone, the government explained that social consensus is necessary due to the significant social and economic damage.

Son said, "The social and economic damage caused by raising to level 3 is substantial, especially for small business owners. Therefore, procedures to seek social agreement on the necessity, timing, and methods are required." He added, "Currently, the adjustment to level 3 is not being discussed at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters but is only under internal review."

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