Authorities: "Emergency measures like additional vaccinations already activated... Social distancing adjustments under review"

On the 25th, the COVID-19 screening clinic at Songpa-gu Public Health Center in Seoul was crowded with citizens seeking tests. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] As the number of new COVID-19 cases continues to rise daily and the number of critically ill patients exceeds 600, intensifying the COVID-19 crisis, authorities emphasized that emergency plans have already been activated for high-risk infection-vulnerable facilities and high-risk groups, ensuring sufficient response measures are in place.

On the morning of the 25th, Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, stated during a COVID-19 briefing, "The fact that we are accelerating additional vaccinations (booster shots) and protecting vulnerable facilities is actually part of emergency planning measures." However, he added, "The emergency plans recently mentioned in the media seem to be about whether or not to adjust social distancing measures," and said, "At present, we are keeping all possibilities open and will discuss while evaluating the epidemic and risk patterns and which measures can respond effectively."

Regarding this, Son emphasized that the authorities had previously categorized emergency plans into strengthening protection for the unvaccinated, minimizing personal contact, protecting vulnerable facilities, and securing medical response capacity. He clarified, "We announced that we would mix the four policy categories according to risk levels," and presented the following: "▲When the epidemic scale among the unvaccinated increases, strengthen restrictions on the unvaccinated such as expanding the vaccine pass ▲If the overall epidemic scale expands, consider private gathering restrictions and business hour regulations as in previous social distancing measures ▲If infections are predominant in vulnerable facilities, strengthen protective measures ▲Expand the medical system with a common character." He further explained, "We intend to focus on combining the problematic factors while observing the epidemic trends."

Son also expressed that although efforts are being made to expand medical capacity, there are limitations. He said, "Administrative orders have been issued to secure semi-critical and moderate beds in non-metropolitan areas," and added, "It seems difficult to secure more intensive care unit (ICU) beds beyond what was previously ordered." While expanding ICU equipment and beds is relatively easy, there are limits to increasing the number of specialized doctors and nurses required for actual treatment. To overcome this, Son explained, "Rather than trying to secure an unlimited number of critical care beds, increasing semi-critical care units to facilitate step-down transfers within hospitals and between hospitals would be more effective in expanding actual ICU capacity."

Based on the discussions of the Recovery Support Committee held that morning, the quarantine authorities will conduct working-level consultations and decide on related matters at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting on the 26th.

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