'170,000 Confirmed Cases' Surge... Prime Minister Kim: "No Need to Panic, Final Hurdle for Returning to Normal Life"

COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum is presiding over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on COVID-19 response at the Government Complex Sejong in Sejong City on the morning of the 23rd. February 23, 2022. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Son Seon-hee] Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said on the 23rd, "The cumulative number of confirmed cases over the past two years is 2 million, of which 1 million occurred in the last 15 days," adding, "If that were the case, the number of deaths should have been halved, but it is only 7.8%." He emphasized, "There is no need to panic or be afraid."

On the same day, Prime Minister Kim chaired the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting at the Government Complex Sejong in the morning and said, "We have already established a system capable of adequately responding to Omicron," and "The severe case rate and mortality rate are being managed relatively stably." He added, "This is probably the last hurdle for the recovery of daily life."

As of midnight on the day, the daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases were 171,452, an increase of about 70,000 compared to the previous day. The number of severe cases also rose to the 500s, and the daily death toll approached 100.

Nevertheless, Prime Minister Kim compared, "Other countries with similar population sizes to ours, and countries with many confirmed cases, have sacrificed more than 100,000 precious lives," and "However, we have protected the precious lives of our people at the level of about 7,000 so far," repeatedly emphasizing the success of K-quarantine.

Prime Minister Kim explained, "The fatality rate and severity rate of Omicron are about one-quarter of the Delta variant and about twice that of seasonal flu," adding, "The risk decreases sharply as you go down to those under their 50s, and if the third vaccination is completed, it decreases to below the level of seasonal flu."

He added, "The reality of Omicron has now become clear," and "The complete overhaul of the quarantine and medical system to match this is now finished. Now is the stage of implementation and stabilization."

Prime Minister Kim said, "In the past, it was impossible to keep up with Omicron by finding each infection source one by one, isolating everyone who could possibly spread it, and receiving hospital treatment at the slightest risk," and urged, "We must focus medical capacity on high-risk groups to minimize severe cases and deaths."

Regarding the gaps in quarantine on the ground, such as some home treatment patients being neglected, Prime Minister Kim apologized, saying, "I apologize for the slight discord that occurred in various treatment processes for the suddenly increased home treatment confirmed cases," but emphasized, "There is absolutely no need to panic. The government is prepared to take measures to protect the people in any form."

Prime Minister Kim revealed that the number of home treatment confirmed cases is about 520,000. Since the workload of frontline public health centers has reached its limit, the government plans to expand the workforce by 6,500 through personnel reallocation and will soon dispatch additional central government officials.

Prime Minister Kim stated, "Although Omicron is still rushing toward its peak, once it is judged that severe cases and deaths can be managed stably, quarantine policies such as social distancing will be broadly reformed." However, some critics continuously point out that the government's 'quarantine easing' signal is not timely while the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases is rapidly approaching its peak day by day.

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