Prime Minister Jeong: "Current Social Distancing and Ban on Gatherings Over 5 People Extended for 2 More Weeks" (Update)

COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is speaking while presiding over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting for COVID-19 response held at the Government Seoul Office on the 26th. March 26, 2021. Photo by Yonhap News

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun announced on the 26th, "From next week, we will maintain the current social distancing level and the ban on gatherings of five or more people for two weeks." Regarding the implementation of the new social distancing system, he said, "We will promote a pilot application of the discussed plan only in regions that wish to do so," and added, "After carefully evaluating the results, we will reconsider the timing of the social distancing system reform."

On the same day, Prime Minister Chung chaired the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting at the Government Seoul Office and said, "With daily confirmed cases remaining in the 300-400 range for 10 consecutive weeks, fatigue toward social distancing is increasing while vigilance is gradually loosening, which is concerning."

He also announced additional quarantine measures, including strengthening responses to symptomatic COVID-19 cases. Prime Minister Chung stated, "Analysis of recent cluster infection cases shows that many infections spread or continued due to symptomatic individuals using facilities," and added, "Therefore, we intend to advance the application of the 'basic quarantine rules' prepared as part of the new social distancing system reform."

Prime Minister Chung said, "We will further strengthen the management of visitors to multi-use facilities and restrict use if symptoms are present," and "We will also expand diagnostic testing to identify symptomatic individuals as quickly as possible." The government plans to set a one-week preparation period considering the on-site situation.

Prime Minister Chung emphasized, "We will continue to make every effort to minimize damage through solid quarantine measures and rapid vaccination until the day daily life is fully restored," and urged, "We ask the public to join this recovery journey with one heart and one mind."

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