Authorities: "Social Distancing Revision Should Be at Level 1 to Apply... Vaccination Rate to Be Linked in Second Half"

Next Week's Social Distancing Adjustment Plan to Be Announced on the 12th
"Very Concerned About Increasing Trend of the Outbreak"

Concerns Over Confusion When Switching Social Distancing System During Outbreak
"Reform at Nationwide Level 1 Is Preferable"

As the third wave of COVID-19 continues in South Korea, on the 28th, citizens lined up in a long queue at the temporary screening clinic at Seoul Station in Jung-gu, Seoul, to get tested. As of midnight that day, the number of new confirmed cases was recorded at 356. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The government is set to announce adjustments to social distancing measures, effective from next week, on the 12th, expressing concern over the recent slight increase in new COVID-19 cases.

Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, stated during the COVID-19 briefing on the 11th, "The daily new cases have risen to the mid-400s for three consecutive days, showing a slight upward trend in the COVID-19 outbreak, which is quite concerning." He added, "Especially, the number of confirmed cases in the metropolitan area has increased significantly, and there is also a tendency for cases to rise in other regions."

The authorities will decide whether to adjust the social distancing levels starting from the 15th, considering the current trend of the outbreak. Son said, "We will continue to monitor the current situation and make a decision through discussions at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters tomorrow (the 12th) and announce it. Currently, we see a slight increase trend, but it is not a rapid rise, so we are gathering various opinions and discussing."

On the morning of the 26th, medical staff at Geumcheon-gu Public Health Center in Seoul are filling syringes with the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine for COVID-19. Photo by Joint Press Corps

Regarding the timing of applying the social distancing stage reform plan announced on the 5th, he stated, "It is most desirable to implement it when all regions fall within Level 1 according to the reform criteria." The reform plan at that time included simplifying the social distancing stages from the current five levels to four and applying different limits on private gatherings for each stage.

Son explained, "Since the current social distancing system and the new system differ in content, switching while the outbreak scale remains could cause confusion. Also, because the new system somewhat relaxes the intensity of quarantine measures compared to the previous system, there is concern about a resurgence of the outbreak. Currently, we believe it is best to minimize the metropolitan area outbreak and implement the reform when all regions reach about Level 1." He added, "We are still in the stage of discussing various issues and finalizing the reform plan, which is also a reason for not rushing its application."

The authorities are focusing on the situation in the first half of the year while discussing this social distancing reform plan. Since the quarantine environment will change in the second half with the increase in vaccination rates, it implies that a new social distancing system reflecting this may be discussed again. Yoon Tae-ho, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters' quarantine division, said, "Currently, the vaccination rate is gradually increasing until the first half, so this reform plan is proceeding largely independent of the vaccination rate. However, once a certain level of vaccination is achieved, the reform plan may be reconsidered based on the situation."

Son said, "We are now at the stage of starting the first dose, and the number of vaccinated people is gradually increasing, so it will take considerable time before the vaccination of high-risk elderly groups begins to show effects. We believe the effects will appear at least after the first half of the year, and we need to consider revising the social distancing reform plan accordingly."

He added, "Once a significant portion of the population completes vaccination, the quarantine environment itself changes. If the fatality rate decreases and the outbreak slows down, the social distancing system should reflect these changes. We plan to consider these aspects together for revisions, and the reform plan currently under discussion is focused on the first half of the year."

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