Government: "COVID-19 Spread Somewhat Stabilized... But We Must Not Let Our Guard Down"

Preventing Surge Through Social Distancing and Other Measures
"Risk of Explosive Spread if Vigilance is Relaxed"

Kang Do-tae, the 1st Chief Coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters and Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, is conducting the regular briefing of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters for COVID-19 response at the Government Seoul Office Building on the 22nd. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The government recently urged cooperation in quarantine measures, warning that although the increase in COVID-19 cases has somewhat plateaued, relaxing vigilance could lead to an explosive resurgence.

Kang Dotae, the 1st General Coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) and Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, stated at a regular briefing on the 22nd, "COVID-19 has not shifted to a declining trend but is being maintained, so the situation remains dangerous," adding, "Since daily confirmed cases are still large, nearing 2,000, we assess that if vigilance is relaxed, an explosive increase in the outbreak is possible."

Previously, the current Level 4 social distancing measures have been applied in the metropolitan area since the 12th of last month. Non-metropolitan areas have also been under Level 3 for about a month since the 26th of last month. Despite this, the number of confirmed cases has not significantly decreased. In the recent one-week period (15th?21st), the average daily confirmed cases in the domestic community were 1,751.1. This is only a decrease of 28.9 cases compared to the previous week (8th?14th), which had 1,780 cases. During the same period, the metropolitan area actually saw an increase from 1,076.9 to 1,101.0 cases, a rise of 24.1 cases.

The number of critically ill patients and deaths is also rapidly increasing. As of midnight on the day, the number of critically ill patients receiving treatments such as high-flow oxygen therapy, ventilators, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was counted at 395. Weekly deaths also increased by 68.8%, from 32 to 54.

The government emphasized that the high-intensity social distancing is preventing further expansion of the outbreak scale. Kang, the 1st General Coordinator, explained, "Last week, the infection reproduction number was 1.02, down from 1.10 the previous week," adding, "It is fortunate that the outbreak scale (weekly confirmed cases), which had sharply increased by 19% two weeks ago, has not surged further and has plateaued."

The infection reproduction number is an indicator showing the extent to which one confirmed case infects others. A value above 1 indicates outbreak spread, while below 1 indicates containment. Earlier this month (1st?7th), the reproduction number dropped to 0.99 but has since remained above 1, at 1.10 and 1.02.

Kang, the 1st General Coordinator, expressed concern, saying, "Currently, strong social distancing and quarantine measures are preventing the outbreak scale from rapidly increasing beyond the healthcare system's capacity," but added, "Although issues like bed shortages have not yet appeared, capacity is decreasing as patient numbers rise, so if the outbreak scale grows further, providing adequate medical care may become difficult."

He continued, "It is a critical time to make efforts to suppress the outbreak level as much as possible until the effects of vaccination?such as blocking transmission and reducing fatality rates?are sufficiently realized," urging active participation in vaccination.

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