Social Distancing Adjustment Plan to be Announced on the 11th... New Revision Plan to be Released Next Week (Update)

Speeding Up the Introduction of Social Distancing Reform Plan in July

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The government will announce the adjusted social distancing measures, which will be applied for three weeks starting next week, on the 11th. Following that, the final version of the new social distancing reform plan will be unveiled next week, with plans to implement it in July.

Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, stated during the COVID-19 briefing on the 8th, "The adjustment plan for the social distancing levels to be applied from next week will be announced on Friday (the 11th)." It is highly likely that the current social distancing levels of Level 2 in the metropolitan area and Level 1.5 in non-metropolitan areas will be maintained in this announcement as well, since the recent daily COVID-19 confirmed cases have been stagnating around 500 to 700.

A more relaxed version of the social distancing reform plan is expected to be finalized and disclosed within next week. Son said, "The reform plan, which is being prepared with the goal of implementation in July, has involved over 10 meetings with 44 associations and organizations to coordinate opinions, and the Living Quarantine Committee has also been conducted," adding, "We will meet with local governments and others to finalize the details within next week."

Meanwhile, as the number of domestic COVID-19 vaccinations surpassed 10 million doses as of the 7th, concerns have been raised overseas about cases where quarantine measures collapsed due to increased vaccinations. In response, the authorities expressed their intention to continuously monitor to ensure effective quarantine management. Yoon Tae-ho, head of the Quarantine General Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, emphasized, "Looking at foreign cases, when the vaccination rate reached 10-20%, strong lockdowns were implemented to reduce confirmed cases," and added, "However, in our country, since the number of confirmed cases is maintained at around 500 to 600 while vaccinations are increasing, a simple comparison with overseas cases is not possible."

He continued, "Recently, quarantine measures that offset the psychological relaxation caused by vaccinations have been implemented together," and stated, "We will ensure that effective quarantine measures continue to prevent a surge in patient numbers despite the easing of tension due to expanded vaccinations."

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