Jeong Sye-gyun Orders "Revise the COVID-19 Social Distancing System"

Opening Remarks at the COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is speaking at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting for COVID-19 response held at the Government Seoul Office on the morning of the 4th. 2021.2.4 Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun instructed the quarantine authorities on the 4th, saying, "I hope you proceed with the restructuring of the social distancing system with the idea of establishing new quarantine standards."

On the same day, Prime Minister Chung held a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters for COVID-19 at the Government Seoul Office and said this to the Central Accident Response Headquarters (CARH), urging, "Related ministries should also listen to requests for adjustment of quarantine rules from each sector and related industries, and actively accept reasonable proposals."

According to a recent public perception survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, about 80% of respondents evaluated that social distancing measures were effective in blocking the third wave of COVID-19, but opinions were sharply divided regarding the fairness of the quarantine standards. Citing this survey, Prime Minister Chung pointed out, "While there is consensus on the necessity of social distancing, there seem to be difficulties in accepting it depending on the methods of implementation."

He added, "From now on, rather than the quarantine authorities unilaterally presenting guidelines, quarantine rules should be created together with the public on the ground, who are the main agents of compliance and practice," and said, "If social distancing is inevitable until herd immunity is formed, the 'how' rather than the 'why' will determine the level of public participation."

Meanwhile, as cases of the UK-origin COVID-19 variant virus spreading domestically have been confirmed, Prime Minister Chung emphasized, "It is urgent to proactively block widespread transmission in the community," and ordered, "The quarantine authorities should broadly identify contacts who may have been exposed to the variant virus and promptly investigate their infection status." He continued, "Please re-examine whether there are any gaps in the self-quarantine process for inbound travelers, and devise effective supplementary measures to prevent further transmission to family members or neighbors during quarantine."

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