The Third Wave Peak Has Passed... "Within Ten Days, Down to Level 2" (Update)

On the 8th, as the Arctic cold wave peaked with Seoul's morning low temperature dropping to minus 17 degrees Celsius, citizens heavily dressed in thick clothing hurried on their way to work near Gwanghwamun Intersection in Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The government has assessed that the third wave of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has passed its peak and entered a declining phase.

Yoon Tae-ho, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) quarantine team, said at a regular briefing on the 8th, "The number of domestic cases in the past week has decreased to the 700s," indicating this trend.

The decline in cases is expected to be gradual. Yoon said, "There has been an expansion of infections in the community, winter seasonal factors remain, and there are many risk factors such as variant viruses," adding, "It is still cautious to let our guard down."

The government aims to reduce new confirmed cases to around 400-500 through the current social distancing measures of level 2.5 in the metropolitan area and level 2 in non-metropolitan areas, which are in effect until the 17th.

Son Young-rae, head of the CDSCH strategic planning team, said, "It is important to intensively implement the current social distancing levels to sufficiently reduce the number of cases," and added, "We judge that the number should be reduced to below 400-500, which is the level 2 social distancing criterion (daily average confirmed cases)."

Meanwhile, compared to the end of November last year, the proportion of cluster infections in multi-use facilities has been gradually decreasing, while the proportion of infections from private gatherings and individual contacts has been increasing.

Yoon said, "We must create a definite declining phase over the next ten days," and added, "If we make more active efforts, such as reducing social contacts themselves, we can further reverse the declining trend."

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