Citizens Voluntarily Practice Social Distancing Amid 'With Corona'... Reduced Activities Due to Surge in Confirmed Cases

Avoid Gatherings as Much as Possible and Stay Home
Potential Increase in Patients with Depression and Anxiety
Self-Employed Sales Also Fall Short of Expectations

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] "These days, there are too many confirmed cases, so I am refraining from outdoor activities as much as possible."

Office worker Jeong O-gyeong (31) is voluntarily living a 'stay-at-home' life despite the transition to phased daily recovery (With Corona). The recent sharp increase in confirmed cases makes her worried about getting infected herself. During last year's COVID-19 pandemic, she overlapped with confirmed cases' movement paths and visited screening clinics twice for tests. Although she was not diagnosed positive, she was very anxious. Because of this memory, her fear of COVID-19 infection has grown, and she spends time alone at home. She said, "They say it's With Corona now, but I don't attend gatherings at all because of the fear of infection."

As the spread of COVID-19 has worsened after With Corona, more people are voluntarily practicing social distancing. However, feelings of depression and lethargy follow like a tag. Office worker Yoon (29) said, "Although restaurant and cafe operating hours have been extended and the number of people allowed to participate in gatherings has increased, I mostly spend time at home and do not meet people, so each day feels frustrating and boring."

Professor Im Myeong-ho of Dankook University’s Department of Psychology explained, "After the transition to With Corona, the number of confirmed cases has greatly increased, and due to anticipatory anxiety that 'I could get infected too,' the number of people expressing depression or anxiety may actually increase. Ultimately, engaging in outdoor activities or meeting people can relieve such depression, but since this is realistically difficult, professional counseling is currently the best solution."

The same applies to self-employed individuals. The expected sales recovery with With Corona feels even more distant. According to the 'Small Business Owners’ Perception Survey on the Implementation of With Corona' conducted by the Korea Federation of SMEs targeting 603 small business owners, 62.4% expected that sales recovery through the first phase of With Corona reform would be less than 25% of the average monthly sales before COVID-19.

Lee (36), who runs a Korean restaurant in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, said, "Even with With Corona, sales only increased by about 20-30%. Considering the losses so far, the number of customers should increase much more, but things are not going as expected, so I worry about how to repay my loans." Park (46), who runs a barbecue restaurant, said, "Since the number of people infected with COVID-19 is not decreasing, I am anxious about what will happen if social distancing is strengthened again."

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