Jung Sye-kyun "COVID-19 Cases Back to 600s... Concern Over Lax Prevention Awareness"

COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is attending the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting for COVID-19 response held at the Government Seoul Office Building on the morning of the 17th. 2021.2.17 [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun stated on the 17th, "The number of confirmed cases, which had briefly stalled during the holiday, has continued to rise, exceeding 600 again for the first time in 39 days since the 10th of last month," and pointed out, "More worrisome than the precarious quarantine situation is the lax quarantine awareness emerging in various places."

On the morning of the same day, Prime Minister Chung chaired the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting at the Government Seoul Office and said, "The government's decision to lower the social distancing level is by no means an intention to loosen quarantine measures."

Despite the ongoing third wave of COVID-19, cases of violating quarantine rules are still being detected in some entertainment establishments. In particular, there are instances of violating the business restriction (10 PM) and holding drinking gatherings late into the night at lodging facilities.

Pointing out such cases, Prime Minister Chung emphasized again, "Some experts are warning of the possibility of a fourth wave in March or April," and added, "Although daily life seems to have somewhat recovered due to the easing of social distancing, now is absolutely not the time to let our guard down."

He said, "To firmly suppress the third wave and start vaccination and the new school semester in a stable situation, the public must participate in 'participatory quarantine,'" and earnestly requested, "Instead of exploiting gaps in quarantine rules, please help fill those gaps together to make the quarantine barrier even stronger."

Amid President Moon Jae-in's recent announcement of a reorganization of social distancing based on 'autonomy and responsibility' starting next month, Prime Minister Chung explained, "The core of sustainable quarantine is 'self-implemented quarantine,'" and added, "It is a delicate quarantine that suppresses high-risk behaviors rather than simply shutting down businesses."

He continued, "The more the quarantine rules are created by the people themselves, the easier it will be to implement and practice them on the ground," and urged, "The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters should fully gather opinions from all sectors during the social distancing reorganization process and devote themselves to creating a reorganization plan that achieves a win-win between quarantine and livelihood."

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