Hong Acting Officer: "This Week is the 'Special Quarantine Management Week'... We Will Accelerate Vaccination Pace"

COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting

Hong Nam-ki, Acting Prime Minister, is speaking at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting on COVID-19 response held at the Government Seoul Office Building on April 25, 2021. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] Hong Nam-gi, Acting Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for Economy, announced on the 25th, "The government will designate this week as a 'Special Quarantine Management Week'." The purpose is to intensively carry out efforts to reduce contact infections across all public and private sectors.

Acting Prime Minister Hong chaired the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting on COVID-19 at the Government Complex Seoul in the afternoon and said, "All ministries, local governments, public institutions, as well as private sectors including companies, will jointly focus on special inspections, management efforts, and concentrated vigilance and restraint to drastically reduce contact infections throughout this week."

He added, "Since each ministry is already implementing the 'Ministerial Responsibility System for Facilities,' please devote efforts to special self-quarantine and on-site quarantine inspections for facilities under each ministry's jurisdiction throughout this week." He also urged, "Businesses and other enterprises should strictly adhere to quarantine rules such as working from home, staggered commuting hours, and minimizing face-to-face contact with a sense of urgency."

Furthermore, he requested the public, "Although it is the spring outing season, please maintain special vigilance during this week, reduce contact, follow the guidelines, and actively cooperate in sharing the pain by refraining from going out and gathering."

Acting Prime Minister Hong also emphasized, "An average of 140,000 to 150,000 vaccinations must be carried out daily throughout this week." He ordered, "Since the required vaccines have already been supplied, quarantine authorities, local governments, and vaccination centers must cooperate seamlessly to ensure that vaccinations are conducted intensively as planned."

The government held an emergency briefing the previous afternoon and announced that it had signed an additional supply contract for 20 million doses (40 million shots) of vaccines with the U.S. COVID-19 pharmaceutical company Pfizer. Acting Prime Minister Hong stated, "Accordingly, South Korea has secured a total of 192 million doses, enough for 99 million people," emphasizing, "This quantity is about twice the population of 50 million and about three times the vaccination target of 36 million people needed for herd immunity. It is a stable and sufficient supply that can respond to various additional demands such as the possibility of a third dose or expansion of vaccination age."

In this regard, Acting Prime Minister Hong is scheduled to hold a comprehensive briefing with related ministers on the 26th morning regarding vaccine procurement and vaccination overall.

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