COVID-19 Severe Cases Increase for 3 Consecutive Weeks... "Temporary Suspension of Contact Visits"

Government Strengthens High-Risk Group Management Policy... Booster Vaccination Rate Around 25% for Elderly Aged 60 and Over
"Thorough School Facility Disinfection in Line with Full Return to In-Person Classes at All School Levels in the Capital Area"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The government has decided to strengthen the management of high-risk groups as the daily number of severe COVID-19 patients has reached 498 over the past week, marking a continuous increase for three consecutive weeks since the first week of November.

On the 22nd, Jeon Hae-cheol, the 2nd Deputy Director of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety), stated in his opening remarks at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting, "The average daily number of severe patients has been increasing for three consecutive weeks since the first week of November," adding, "As of yesterday, 78.9% of the population has completed vaccination, and the additional vaccination rate for about 7.2 million people, including the elderly aged 60 and above, high-risk groups, and immunocompromised individuals, is approximately 25%."

Deputy Director Jeon also announced plans to expand booster vaccinations to reduce the number of severe patients. He explained, "With the number of severe patients and the average bed occupancy rate increasing, the government will make every effort to secure hospital beds and medical personnel, while expanding booster vaccinations for high-risk groups to minimize the number of severe cases."

He continued, "For nursing hospitals and facility residents where immunity decline is clearly observed after vaccination completion, we will actively encourage booster vaccination consent and provide maximum support for visiting vaccination personnel to ensure early completion of vaccinations for those eligible for shortened vaccination intervals."

Additionally, the government has decided to temporarily suspend visitation for vaccinated individuals. Deputy Director Jeon said, "We will suspend contact visits that were allowed only for vaccinated individuals and implement thorough management of compliance with quarantine rules through a ‘Nursing Hospital Responsibility System,’ which matches dedicated public officials one-on-one with each nursing hospital."

Meanwhile, Deputy Director Jeon pledged to ensure thorough disinfection of school facilities in the metropolitan area as all schools return to full in-person attendance.

He stated, "The government will utilize about 1,800 disinfection personnel deployed to approximately 600 overcrowded schools in the metropolitan area to ensure thorough disinfection of school facilities," adding, "For facilities outside schools with high infection risks such as private academies, PC rooms, and karaoke rooms, we will operate a ‘School Life Quarantine Guidance and Inspection Team’ involving about 1,300 participants including local governments, education offices, and parents until the end of the year to strengthen safety management activities such as after-school life guidance."

He added, "We will also expand the operation of the ‘Proactive COVID-19 Testing Mobile Specimen Collection Teams,’ currently operating in six metropolitan cities including Seoul and Gyeonggi, until the end of the year to improve testing convenience for students and detect confirmed cases early."

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