Government Officially Confirms "Corona Resurgence" ... Plans to Announce Response Measures Next Week

Jungdaebon "Acknowledges Transition to Spread Phase"
Strengthening Infection Control in Vulnerable Facilities and Reassessing Bed Availability

On the 8th, 19,323 new COVID-19 cases were reported, marking a 2.03-fold increase compared to the previous week. Citizens visiting the screening clinic set up at Mapo-gu Public Health Center in Seoul are waiting to be tested. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The government has officially recognized the resurgence of COVID-19 and has launched focused quarantine measures for vulnerable facilities and a nationwide inspection of hospital bed availability. However, it announced that specific response measures for the resurgence will be prepared and announced next week, indicating that it is still deliberating over the previously emphasized principles of 'scientific quarantine' and 'policy judgment.'

On the morning of the 8th, Lee Ki-il, the 1st Chief Coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (and Vice Minister of Health and Welfare), emphasized at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting, "Warning signs of the COVID-19 resurgence are lighting up one by one," adding, "It is a time when we all need to be vigilant." This statement reflects an increased sense of crisis compared to a week ago when the possibility of a COVID-19 wave was first mentioned. On the 1st, Prime Minister Han Deok-su, who presided over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting, said, "The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, which had been decreasing for 14 consecutive weeks, has started to increase again this week," and on the 6th, Lee Sang-min, the 2nd Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (Minister of the Interior and Safety), diagnosed that "the spread of the wave is expected to continue."

As of midnight on the same day, the number of new domestic COVID-19 confirmed cases was 19,323, more than double the 9,522 cases reported on the 1st a week earlier. Daily new confirmed cases have exceeded 18,000 consecutively since the 5th. The average daily confirmed cases over the past week from the 3rd to the 8th were 15,277, an 86.5% increase compared to the same period the previous week (June 26 to July 1), which was 8,193. The infection reproduction number has increased weekly and exceeded 1 last week, reaching 1.05.

Lee explained, "The detection rate of the BA.5 variant virus, which has immune evasion characteristics, is increasing, and multiple factors such as increased summer mobility, insufficient indoor ventilation due to air conditioner use, and decreased immunity are acting in combination, showing signs of a resurgence," adding, "This means that COVID-19 has shifted back into a phase of spread."

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters decided on the same day to re-inspect quarantine measures for major vulnerable facilities such as correctional facilities and slaughterhouses, as well as the nationwide hospital bed situation. Together with local governments nationwide, they will intensively check whether there is a shortage of beds in each region and the preparedness for confirmed patients requiring special treatments such as childbirth, dialysis, and pediatrics.

Specific response measures for the summer COVID-19 resurgence will be announced next week. Although the government is unlikely to immediately strengthen quarantine measures such as social distancing, attention is focused on what quarantine strategies will be proposed in a situation where the wave is expanding again for the first time since the current administration took office. The recently launched 'National Infectious Disease Crisis Response Advisory Committee' will discuss whether to lift the isolation obligation for confirmed cases, a decision that was postponed twice before, and will also gather expert opinions on the fourth dose of the vaccine.

Lee said, "The quarantine authorities are discussing response measures for the resurgence with experts regarding quarantine and the medical system," and added, "We will prepare the summer resurgence response plan next week and report it in detail to the public."

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