Government: "Recent Increase in Confirmed Cases Difficult to Accurately Assess... Current Social Distancing Measures Maintained" (Update)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The government will maintain the current social distancing levels?Level 2.5 in the Seoul metropolitan area and Level 2 in non-metropolitan areas?from midnight on the 1st of next month until midnight on the 14th, for two weeks. This decision is due to the difficulty in accurately determining whether the recent increase in confirmed cases is a temporary phenomenon and concerns about additional infection spread during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Kang Do-tae, the first chief coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, stated at the COVID-19 regular briefing on the 31st, "COVID-19 cases had generally been decreasing, but recently, the number of patients has been increasing due to cluster infections."

Kang said, "The recent increase in cases means that the average daily domestic patient count over the past week (January 25?31) is around 420, which falls within the Level 2.5 social distancing criteria (400?500 cases). It is difficult to accurately determine whether this pattern is a temporary phenomenon caused by cluster infections such as the IM Mission or if it represents a reversal into an increasing trend."

Kang added, "With the Lunar New Year holiday approaching, interregional movement, travel, and gatherings are expected to increase, raising the risk of infection spread. It is necessary to stably reduce the number of cases to ensure the smooth progress of vaccinations starting in February and the academic schedule beginning in March."

However, as social distancing prolongs, small business owners continue to suffer from operational restrictions and gathering bans, and there are concerns about declining public participation. Therefore, the government plans to monitor the trends in case numbers and infection patterns over the next week and reconsider adjustments to social distancing levels, gathering bans, and operational restrictions after one week.

Kang said, "Considering the increased risk of movement during the Lunar New Year holiday, special measures such as the ban on private gatherings of five or more people will be maintained unchanged for two weeks regardless of the epidemic situation. The ban on private gatherings of five or more people will be extended nationwide for two weeks until the end of the Lunar New Year holiday to minimize the possibility of infection spread through personal meetings and contacts."

Accordingly, the ban on private gatherings of five or more people will be strictly enforced during the Lunar New Year holiday period, and even immediate family members living separately are not allowed to gather in groups of five or more.

Kang urged, "We ask that people refrain from returning to their hometowns and traveling as much as possible during the Lunar New Year holiday and to exchange greetings remotely."

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