Prime Minister Jeong: "Year-end and New Year hotel and party room bookings surge... a deplorable sight"

"Increase in Small Gatherings Among Young People Leads to No Vacancy in Gangwon and Jeju"
"Around 1,000 New Cases Daily... Securing Hospital Beds an Urgent Task"
"Cancel Year-End Meetings and Gatherings, Avoid Contact with Others"

Prime Minister Jeong Sye-kyun

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun stated on the 17th, "There are reports that reservations for small gatherings at hotels, party rooms, and pensions have surged ahead of Christmas and the year-end and New Year holidays. While large-scale meetings and events have decreased, small gatherings mainly among young people have increased to the point that there are no vacancies in Gangwon-do or Jeju-do," adding, "This is truly a deplorable situation as the majority of the public is on high alert every day about the number of confirmed cases and is working together to reverse the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19)."

At the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting held at the Government Seoul Office that day, Prime Minister Chung said, "For this year-end, I earnestly ask everyone to cancel all meetings and gatherings for the safety of your beloved family, friends, and colleagues, and to avoid contact with others."

He explained, "It has been three days since temporary screening clinics were set up in major metropolitan areas to find hidden infections. Thanks to the dedication of medical staff and the participation of many citizens despite the severe cold weather, more than 37,000 people have been tested so far, and 68 confirmed COVID-19 cases were identified in just two days."

He continued, "I believe this number is sufficient to dispel doubts about the effectiveness of this first-time random proactive testing. If these individuals had not willingly participated in the proactive testing, the coronavirus would still be quietly spreading to someone somewhere."

He then urged, "I request the active participation of metropolitan area citizens in testing. The quarantine authorities and local governments should do their utmost to install the planned temporary screening clinics as quickly as possible to preemptively block the chain of COVID-19 transmission."

Prime Minister Chung expressed concern, saying, "With around 1,000 confirmed cases daily, securing hospital beds has become the most urgent task. The government has established a principle to transfer patients to living treatment centers or hospitals within 24 hours after confirmation and is doing its best to care for patients. However, in some parts of the metropolitan area, there are still many patients waiting at home for more than two days."

He added, "This is an infectious disease crisis situation where protecting the lives of the people must be the top priority. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters should firmly act as the control tower for the metropolitan area bed issue, and all local governments should actively cooperate with the mindset that we are one body."

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