CDCHQ, "Halloween Could Trigger a Sharp Rise in Confirmed Cases... Strict Measures Will Be Taken Against Violating Foreigners"

Minister Jeon Hae-cheol presiding over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting on COVID-19 (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Tae-min Ryu] Jeon Hae-cheol, the 2nd Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) and Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, urged caution regarding quarantine measures on the 31st, warning of a high possibility of an increase in confirmed cases due to Halloween Day.

In his opening remarks at the CDSCH meeting that day, Deputy Head Jeon said, "The government and local governments are implementing special quarantine management measures, including the 'Joint Inspection Patrol by Related Agencies' (October 27 to November 2), focusing on areas densely populated by foreigners and frequently visited locations, along with a campaign to cooperate in refraining from gatherings." He emphasized, "We will strictly take action against foreigners who violate quarantine rules in accordance with relevant laws and regulations."

Deputy Head Jeon explained, "The average daily number of confirmed cases over the past week was 1,829, an increase of about 34% compared to the previous week," adding, "There have been large-scale cluster infections at hospitals in the Gyeongnam region, as well as various cluster infection cases by region." He expressed concern about the increase in infection risk factors such as expanded personal contact due to the implementation of daily recovery, increased private gatherings during the year-end and New Year holidays, and enclosed winter environments. He stated, "Thorough quarantine management is essential for the stable and continuous implementation of the phased daily recovery. We ask for continuous compliance with quarantine rules in daily spaces, such as wearing masks indoors and outdoors and regular ventilation."

Regarding vaccination, Deputy Head Jeon said, "The proportion of people who have completed vaccination has exceeded 75% (75.3%) of the total population and stands at about 87.6% among adults aged 18 and over," adding, "We will do our best to ensure that vaccination coverage exceeds 80% of the total population as soon as possible to achieve stable phased daily recovery." He also stated, "We will continue same-day reservations and vaccinations for the unvaccinated, and strive to establish and implement vaccination plans tailored to regional conditions led by local governments. Additionally, we will expand the target for additional vaccinations to include those aged 50 and over, people with underlying conditions, and Janssen vaccine recipients to enhance vaccination effectiveness."

He emphasized, "We will operate the COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Committee (tentative name), responsible for investigating, analyzing adverse reactions, and reviewing safety, starting in early November, and add vaccine-related private experts to the 'Vaccination Damage Compensation Expert Committee' to enhance expertise and independence. We will also devote efforts to preparing more advanced daily recovery measures."

He added, "Centered on the secretariat of the newly launched Daily Recovery Support Committee, we will check the implementation status of the current plan and continuously discover and improve additional tasks to reach a more stable level of daily recovery."

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