Current Social Distancing Extended for 3 More Weeks... "New Reorganization Plan to be Applied from July" (Comprehensive)

"Low Number of Critically Ill Patients and Sufficient Medical Response Capacity"
New Social Distancing Plan to Proceed if Japan Controls Daily Cases to 1,000
Authorities Say "Medical System Will Be More Relaxed in July Due to Vaccination"

Vaccination Rate Exceeds 70% in Nursing Facilities and Hospitals
Preparations Begin to Ease Quarantine Rules and Visitation Standards

On the 29th, as the spread of COVID-19 infections continues unabated, the temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul Station Plaza is crowded with citizens seeking testing. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The government has extended the current social distancing levels?Level 2 in the Seoul metropolitan area and Level 1.5 in non-metropolitan areas?by three more weeks until the 23rd of next month. Considering the healthcare system's capacity and the impact on the common people's economy, the current quarantine measures will be maintained, but if the weekly average number of confirmed cases rises above 800, the government will consider strengthening the measures. The reorganization of the new social distancing system, which had been slow to progress, is planned to proceed from July on the premise of controlling the epidemic situation with a daily average of fewer than 1,000 cases.

Yoon Tae-ho, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters' quarantine team, explained the background for extending social distancing at the COVID-19 regular briefing on the 30th: "Currently, the number of patients is maintaining a fairly stable level without a rapid increase or decrease, showing a slight increase over the past 3 to 4 weeks. Although the number of patients is an important criterion when deciding the social distancing level, various other indicators are also comprehensively considered to make decisions."

He added, "There are limitations to applying measures solely based on patient numbers, as was done during the third wave. Currently, the number of severe and critical patients remains relatively low, and the healthcare system's capacity is sufficient, which qualitatively differs from the third wave."

The quarantine authorities plan to reorganize the social distancing system starting in July. Since the remaining two months before the reorganization are a transitional period, rather than presenting new criteria again, they intend to make decisions by comprehensively considering various factors such as patient numbers within the current social distancing levels.

Regarding the recent revision of the threshold for applying the new reorganization plan from a daily average of 1,000 cases or less, similar reasons were cited. Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Team at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said, "Compared to the third wave, even if the same scale of patients occurs, the number of severe and critical patients is smaller, and the healthcare system has been significantly expanded through continuous efforts. Furthermore, if the vaccination schedule focused on the elderly continues, the proportion of critically ill and deceased patients will decrease further, allowing the healthcare system more leeway."

Authorities judge that the current healthcare system can respond without major issues up to around 1,000 daily cases. Son explained, "For now, the goal is to manage the epidemic scale to remain below 1,000 cases as a mid-to-long-term target until the end of June. Especially since the first dose vaccination for the elderly will be completed by July, this threshold will rise, and at that time, the new social distancing system will be used to control the epidemic pattern."

Additionally, the government decided to extend the special quarantine management week by one week until the 9th of next month. During this period, each ministry will conduct on-site inspections of their respective facilities at least once daily and strengthen compliance with quarantine rules through meetings with related associations and organizations, reinforcing the ministerial responsibility system. The principle of zero tolerance for violations of quarantine rules will be maintained. However, the ban on private gatherings in the public sector will not be extended and will be lifted.

On the 9th, contact visits, which had been restricted due to the risk of COVID-19 infection, became possible at Ga Eun Myung Won in Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi Province, where Lee Yong-beom is visiting his mother, Son Yong-chang. Contact visits are allowed only for guardians of patients or residents who are terminally ill, severely ill, or in similar conditions, provided they have tested negative for COVID-19 within 24 hours prior to the visit. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Meanwhile, the quarantine authorities announced plans to ease quarantine rules for nursing hospitals and facilities for those who have completed vaccination as vaccination speeds up. These facilities began priority vaccinations at the end of February, and as of midnight today, 76.4% of nursing hospital residents and 79.9% of nursing facility residents have completed vaccination. Accordingly, for nursing hospitals and facilities where more than 75% of all eligible individuals have completed the first dose, the PCR testing frequency for workers will be relaxed starting two weeks after the completion of vaccination. For nursing hospitals, testing will be reduced to once a week in Level 2 areas such as the metropolitan area, and once every two weeks in Level 1.5 non-metropolitan areas. For nursing facilities, regardless of region, the current weekly testing will be adjusted to once every two weeks.

For those who have completed the second dose, visitation standards at nursing hospitals and facilities will be improved and applied. If either the visitor or the inpatient has completed the second dose of vaccination, in-person (contact) visits will be allowed. Minimal quarantine measures such as separate visitation spaces and wearing protective equipment will be maintained, but the requirement for visitors to present a negative PCR test result will be waived.

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