Metropolitan Area Spread and Increased Mobility 'Warning Signs'... "Minimize Daycare Closures" (Update)

Infection Reproduction Number Rises to 1.01 Starting Second Week of August

On the 13th, citizens are waiting for testing at the COVID-19 screening clinic in front of Seongbuk-gu Office. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] As the spread of COVID-19 continues mainly in the Seoul metropolitan area, the increase in movement ahead of the Chuseok holiday is causing concern for health authorities.

On the 14th, Park Hyang, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters' quarantine team, said at the regular COVID-19 briefing, "In the Seoul metropolitan area, the spread continues while movement is also increasing, which is a warning sign."

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, the average daily number of domestic cases last week (September 5?11) was 1,725.4, an increase of 54.3 cases (3.2%) compared to the previous week.

In particular, the epidemic continues in the Seoul metropolitan area. During the same period, non-metropolitan cases were 491.4, down 23.7 cases (4.6%) from the previous week, but metropolitan cases were 1,234, up 78 cases (6.7%) from the previous week.

Park said, "With the increase in the scale of the epidemic in the metropolitan area, the infection reproduction number last week was slightly above 1 at 1.01," adding, "The figure has been gradually rising since the second week of August."

He continued, "Last week, nationwide movement increased by 1.9% compared to the previous week, showing a three-week consecutive upward trend," and expressed concern that "auxiliary indicators of movement such as highway traffic volume and credit card sales are also showing increasing trends."

Park added, "We believe the increase in movement is due to accumulated fatigue from prolonged social distancing and preparations for the Chuseok holiday," and urged, "Residents of the metropolitan area should refrain from gatherings and activities as a large-scale epidemic is spreading, and infections can occur anytime and anywhere."

On the 13th, citizens who received the COVID-19 vaccine are waiting in the adverse reaction monitoring area at the vaccination center in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

Additionally, the government announced that it will change the temporary closure period for daycare centers when confirmed cases occur from the current 'up to 14 days' to 'the minimum time required based on health authorities' epidemiological investigation' within this month, reflecting demands from local governments and field sites to minimize care gaps. Recently, the trend of COVID-19 cases in daycare centers has been slowing down as vaccinations for daycare staff have been carried out.

Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Team at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, explained, "Previously, when a confirmed case occurred in a daycare center, the center was closed for up to 14 days from the last day the confirmed individual attended the center," adding, "but concerns have been raised that long-term closures cause more care gaps than safety protection effects, so this policy has been changed."

Son added, "Going forward, based on the results of health authorities' epidemiological investigations, we will specify the appropriate timing focusing on the infection sites identified in the investigation," and "we will avoid closing the entire daycare center for 14 days as before and instead shift to closing only the high-risk locations and spaces for the minimum necessary period."

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