Health Authorities: "Easing Social Distancing Will Be Decided After Comprehensive Review of the Epidemic Situation"

Easing of Quarantine Pass to Be Reviewed While Assessing the Epidemic Situation

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] The quarantine authorities reiterated their stance on the possibility of easing social distancing measures, stating that they will "comprehensively review the situation while monitoring the epidemic situation."

On the 8th, Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said at a back briefing, "Even if the severity and fatality rate of the Omicron variant decrease, if the peak scale is huge, the absolute number of severe patients and deaths will increase, so the peak is also an important point," but added, "It is uncertain when the peak will occur."

He further explained, "Currently, we are in a phase where the spread of the epidemic is rapidly increasing, so for now, we will maintain the two-week distancing measures, but we will review the possibility of easing them while evaluating the epidemic situation."

Earlier, Jeong Eun-kyeong, Commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, predicted that due to the Omicron variant epidemic, the daily number of new confirmed cases could increase to between 130,000 and a maximum of 170,000 by the end of this month.

Regarding the policy to ease the quarantine pass, she said, "This is a matter that the Central Disease Control Headquarters and the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters need to comprehensively review," adding, "We will examine whether there are any changes to the quarantine pass as epidemiological investigations change."

Son said, "It is a concerning point that deaths and severe cases among the unvaccinated continue to increase," adding, "The quarantine pass serves the dual purpose of protecting the unvaccinated and blocking transmission."

For now, existing policies such as the youth quarantine pass, which will be implemented from the 1st of next month, will proceed as planned. Son explained, "Whether there will be adjustments is a matter to be reviewed while comprehensively evaluating the Omicron epidemic situation until next week."

Regarding the possibility of easing business hour restrictions for those who have received the third dose, as proposed by Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, he responded, "It is a matter of deciding whether to adjust social distancing measures," adding, "It is something to be adjusted during the specific review process."

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