Government to Announce Social Distancing Adjustment Plan on 26th Next Week... Direction Discussion Completed

"Discussion Completed Between the Life Quarantine Committee, Relevant Ministries, and Local Governments"

On the 22nd, citizens are waiting to get tested at the temporary COVID-19 screening site set up at Seoul Station Plaza. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The government will announce the adjusted social distancing measures, which will take effect from the 29th, on the 26th. The quarantine authorities have already set the direction after discussions with the Living Quarantine Committee, related ministries, and local governments.

On the 25th, Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said in a COVID-19 briefing, "The Living Quarantine Committee was held on the 22nd regarding the adjusted distancing measures to be applied from next week, and discussions among related ministries and local governments about the direction have been largely completed," adding, "The discussed plan will be decided and announced at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting tomorrow (26th)."

Currently, social distancing measures are applied at level 2 in the metropolitan area and level 1.5 in non-metropolitan areas. Since the 15th of last month, the government has lowered the distancing level from 2.5 to 2 in the metropolitan area and from 2 to 1.5 in non-metropolitan areas, and has extended these measures for over a month. The ban on private gatherings of five or more people is still in effect.

With daily confirmed cases continuing at around 400 mainly in the metropolitan area, there is a possibility that the current distancing level may be extended once again. In the past week, except for the 23rd (346 cases), when the weekend effect was reflected, daily new confirmed cases have all exceeded 400. The average daily number of confirmed cases during this period is over 400, which corresponds to distancing level 2.5.

The fact that the outbreak situation in the metropolitan area is not subsiding is also a concern. Since the 15th, the quarantine authorities have implemented special quarantine measures in the metropolitan area focusing on strengthening quarantine at major multi-use facilities, setting a goal to reduce new confirmed cases in the metropolitan area to the 200s by this weekend. However, as of midweek, the effect of the special quarantine measures is not yet visible.

Meanwhile, as of midnight on this day, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Korea has surpassed 100,000. It has been 430 days since the first COVID-19 patient was reported in the country on January 20 last year. It took less than a month to surpass 100,000 cases from 90,000 (90,024 cases on March 1).

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