Government: "Cases Will Increase for a Week"...Possibility of Seoul's Independent Step 4 Upgrade (Update)

"Closely Monitoring the Need for Proactive Measures in the Seoul Metropolitan Area"

On the 8th, citizens who visited the screening clinic in Mapo-gu, Seoul, are waiting in line for COVID-19 testing. The Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that as of midnight that day, the number of new confirmed cases increased by 1,275, marking the highest number since the COVID-19 outbreak. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Korea reached a record high of 1,275 on the 8th, health authorities predicted that the spread in the metropolitan area would continue for about a week. Accordingly, they are considering preemptively raising social distancing measures in the metropolitan area. In particular, there is also a possibility of raising the level to the highest stage, Level 4, exclusively for Seoul, where the outbreak situation is severe.

Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, said in a back briefing on the 8th, "We are holding daily meetings with local governments in the metropolitan area, keeping in mind the possibility of raising the level, and monitoring the situation. Considering various auxiliary indicators such as risk, we are watching closely to see if preemptive measures are necessary."

The government is especially focusing on the spread in Seoul. Son said, "Seoul is close to the Level 4 social distancing criteria," and analyzed, "Looking only at Seoul, the weekly daily case count is in the 380s as of today, and tomorrow will be the first day to enter the Level 4 criteria."

On the day, with a record high of 1,275 new confirmed cases reported, 994 cases (81%) were from the metropolitan area. By region, Seoul had 545 cases, Gyeonggi 388, and Incheon 61. The criteria for raising to Level 4 social distancing are an average of 1,000 cases per day over three consecutive days for the entire metropolitan area, and an average of 389 cases per day over three consecutive days for Seoul.

Son explained, "Cases are concentrated in Seoul, which is close to the Level 4 criteria, while other metropolitan areas are still somewhat below. The problem is that the metropolitan area has high population mobility, so if the infection spreads, there is a strong tendency for it to spread throughout the entire area."

For now, authorities believe it will take about a week for the effects of recently strengthened quarantine measures, expanded testing, and enhanced epidemiological investigations to appear. Son said, "Those confirmed today were infected on average 5 to 6 days ago, so it will take about a week to see the effects of blocking gatherings and strengthening patient tracking," adding, "Rather than waiting, we will monitor the trend of the outbreak during this period and adjust social distancing measures accordingly."

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