"Only Those Who Follow Social Distancing Are Following It..." Growing Public Dissatisfaction Over Postponement of Level 3 Escalation

Extension of Metropolitan Area Level 2.5 Social Distancing Until January 3 Next Year... No Upgrade to Level 3
Experts Say "Level 3 Social Distancing Should End Quickly and Strongly"

On the 20th of last month, citizens were coming and going on Myeongdong Street in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] As the daily average number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) continues to hover around 1,000, voices calling for an escalation to social distancing level 3 are emerging. However, the government decided to extend the current social distancing measures?level 2.5 in the metropolitan area and level 2 in non-metropolitan areas?until January 3 of next year, rather than raising to level 3, which has drawn some criticism. Among some citizens, concerns are voiced such as "I'm afraid the spread won't be contained even after raising to level 3," and "People are losing awareness and going out to have fun, so maintaining the current level is unacceptable."

The government plans to maintain the current quarantine level along with special year-end and New Year quarantine measures and then reconsider whether to raise the level. Kwon Deok-cheol, 1st Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) and Minister of Health and Welfare, said at the COVID-19 regular briefing held at the Government Seoul Office on the 27th, "We are continuously expanding quarantine and medical response capabilities to cope with the current patient incidence level, and it is difficult to see this as a limit situation," adding, "Depending on the effect of the year-end and New Year quarantine measures, we will observe how the slowing increase in patients changes and comprehensively assess all social distancing measures to adjust accordingly."

Deputy Head Kwon added, "Overall social distancing measures will be comprehensively adjusted before January 3, when the special year-end and New Year quarantine measures end, after observing the situation over the next week."

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun also emphasized at the CDSCH meeting that day, "The special measures we are already implementing include quarantine measures stronger than social distancing level 3," and stressed, "What is most important now is implementation."

Earlier, the government applied special year-end and New Year quarantine measures separately from the social distancing levels starting from the 24th. The aim is to control the spread without raising to level 3 by focusing on 'pinpoint quarantine' during the period expected to have high travel volume.

Accordingly, dining in groups of five or more is prohibited nationwide, and winter sports facilities such as ski resorts, skating rinks, and sledding hills are banned from gathering. Various tourist sites have also been closed, and lodging facilities such as hotels are limited to 50% occupancy.

Photo by Yonhap News

However, self-employed citizens and others are urging an escalation to level 3. They argue that without raising the social distancing level, the current spread of COVID-19 cannot be controlled.

Recently, numerous petitions demanding a swift escalation to level 3 have been posted on the Blue House's public petition board. One petitioner, identifying as a self-employed person, lamented, "Sales have dropped by nearly half due to COVID-19," and said, "If the (social distancing level) is not raised now, it could cause greater economic damage. Everyone wants the level to be raised to 3 as soon as possible."

Another petitioner titled "Please escalate to level 3 & revise the manual details!" questioned, "Who is the COVID-19 virus phase guideline manual for?" and pointed out, "Confirmed cases are not decreasing but rather surging, leading to a shortage of hospital beds and medical staff, and more people are unable to even get into hospitals."

They continued, "At a time when the public is already exhausted and struggling, the government only delays with 'under review' and 'not the stage yet' without presenting clear improvement plans," criticizing, "The public's anxiety and fatigue are only accumulating."

Additionally, on various online community boards and related article comments, posts demanding an escalation to social distancing level 3 are easily found, such as "Current social distancing lacks enforceability, so only those who comply follow it while everyone else goes out," "Self-employed people suffer equally under level 2.5 or 3," "Please raise to level 3 even briefly to reduce confirmed cases," and "It's nonsense to say that a slight decrease from 1,000 confirmed cases is not a concern. Raise the level immediately."

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 situation is worsening, with nearly 10,000 patients having unknown infection routes. According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters on the 27th, the proportion of 'unknown infection route' patients?those who do not know when or where they were infected?remained in the high 28% range for two consecutive days.

Among the 14,109 new confirmed cases from the 14th of this month to the 27th, 4,021 cases, or 28.5%, are still under investigation for infection routes.

Moreover, fears of the UK variant virus have compounded the situation. Recently, an 80-year-old man who entered from the UK died and was confirmed positive for COVID-19, with quarantine authorities investigating whether it was the variant virus. The variant virus first discovered in the UK is reported to be up to 70% more transmissible than the existing COVID-19.

Experts have suggested that social distancing should be raised to level 3 due to the worsening COVID-19 situation.

Professor Kim Woo-joo of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Korea University Guro Hospital pointed out, "Public vigilance is declining, and it is impossible to stop all year-end gatherings," adding, "Not only cluster infections but also secondary and tertiary infections are serious. We must reduce contact between people."

Professor Kim emphasized, "The medical community is also suffering from manpower shortages, and hospital beds are insufficient, reaching their limits," and said, "In this situation, social distancing should be raised to level 3 for about two weeks to curb the spread. Strong measures are necessary to control the epidemic."

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