Minister Kwon Deok-cheol Recognizes "Stagnation in Confirmed Cases" as a Crisis Phase... Urges Adherence to Quarantine Rules

"'Stabilization, Recrisis' on a Precarious Edge"

Health and Welfare Minister Kwon Deok-cheol is attending the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on COVID-19 held at the Government Seoul Office in Sejong-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 5th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The government has repeatedly urged compliance with quarantine rules, stating that it "recognizes the current situation, where the number of confirmed cases is not decreasing but stagnating, as a crisis phase." Additionally, it announced a plan for proactive testing targeting childcare workers in response to recent small-scale infection cases in daycare centers, mainly in the metropolitan area.

Kwon Deok-cheol, First Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of Health and Welfare), said at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on the 29th, "The daily number of confirmed cases has stubbornly remained in the 400s, and on weekends when the number of tests decreases, more than 500 cases have been reported. Cluster infections continue to occur in high-risk environments such as door-to-door sales, logistics centers, and indoor sports facilities, where the three Cs?closed spaces, crowded places, and close-contact settings?are prevalent."

He added, "The government, recognizing the current situation as a crisis phase, will extend major quarantine measures such as social distancing levels and the ban on gatherings of five or more people for two more weeks starting today. Furthermore, regardless of social distancing levels, basic quarantine rules for each facility, including visitor logs management and temperature checks that must be observed by managers, workers, and users together, will be implemented earlier after a one-week grace period."

In particular, Minister Kwon emphasized the need to tighten the loosened quarantine measures once again. He said, "As the stagnation period where the number of confirmed cases does not decrease lengthens, our vigilance weakens and dulls, and COVID-19 relentlessly threatens our quarantine system. For the sake of families, colleagues, and our community, please thoroughly practice basic quarantine rules and review whether there are any blind spots beyond the facilities where cluster infections have occurred."

At the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting that day, in addition to reviewing quarantine measures by region, plans to strengthen quarantine management in daycare centers were also discussed. Minister Kwon stated, "Thorough quarantine management of daycare centers is not only about protecting children and childcare teachers from infection but also about safeguarding a core function of the community that provides stable care. The government plans to conduct proactive testing once a month for 300,000 childcare workers nationwide to protect children using daycare centers more safely from COVID-19."

He also said, "Starting in April, according to the second-quarter vaccination plan, vaccinations will begin for childcare teachers caring for children with disabilities and nursing staff at daycare centers. Please prepare thoroughly by establishing vaccination schedules and work plans in advance to ensure that caregiving functions are not disrupted during the vaccination process."

Finally, Minister Kwon said, "In April, starting with vaccinations for seniors aged 75 and older, we will take one step closer to the recovery of daily life that everyone desires." However, he also urged adherence to quarantine guidelines, noting, "April is a time when people increase visits to spring flower tourist spots and shopping malls amid warmer weather, and gatherings increase through religious events such as Easter and Ramadan."

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