First 1,200-Level Daily COVID-19 Cases... Will Weekend See 3-Step Elevation?

Average Daily Confirmed Cases Exceed 1,000 Over One Week... Upgrade Criteria Already Met

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) reached a record high of 1,241 yesterday, increasing pressure to raise the 'social distancing' to level 3.

Although the government has been implementing special year-end and New Year quarantine measures since the day before, including banning gatherings of five or more people in restaurants nationwide, suspending operations of winter sports facilities, and closing sunrise viewing spots, the spread has not slowed down.

The government will announce adjustments to the 'social distancing' measures this weekend. They plan to monitor the trend of new cases this week and decide over the weekend whether to extend or raise the current distancing level, which is set to end on the 28th.

As of midnight on the 25th, the Central Disease Control Headquarters reported 1,241 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases to 54,770.

The 1,241 new cases set another record high. This is a significant increase from the high 900s the previous day and is the highest number of cases since the first confirmed case in the country on January 20. Recently, the daily new cases have hovered around 1,000, but this time they jumped directly to the 1,200 range, skipping the 1,100s.

With the surge to over 1,200 cases, the criteria for social distancing level 3 have also been met. The conditions for implementing level 3 distancing are a nationwide average of 800 to 1,000 or more domestic cases per day or a rapid increase such as doubling. The average daily cases over the past week have already exceeded 1,000.

The government is closely monitoring the situation and reviewing whether to raise the level. However, since some enhanced measures beyond the existing level 3 distancing, such as banning gatherings of five or more in the metropolitan area, have been in place since the special year-end and New Year quarantine measures started the day before, and because raising to level 3 would cause serious social and economic damage, the final decision is being carefully considered.

Son Young-rae, head of the Strategic Planning Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH), said at the regular briefing of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on the 22nd, "We are closely analyzing and observing the current situation regarding the increase in distancing levels," adding, "Based on this week's situation, adjustments such as extending or raising the metropolitan area to level 2.5 and nationwide to level 2 are expected around the weekend."

Son explained, "The year-end and New Year measures are separately implemented until January 3 to address the increased movement of people during Christmas and the potential amplification of the current spread," and added, "The distancing measures announced this weekend are separate from the special year-end and New Year quarantine measures or local governments' bans on gatherings of five or more."

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