"New COVID-19 Cases Below 100, Significant Progress in Vaccination Needed" ... Focus on Maintaining Current Situation for the Time Being

Published 06 May.2021 12:25(KST)

On the morning of the 4th, a citizen visiting the temporary COVID-19 screening clinic at Seoul Station is undergoing a test. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Health authorities foresee that a definite stabilization of daily new COVID-19 cases dropping below 100 will only be possible once COVID-19 vaccination has progressed significantly.

On the 6th, Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, responded to a question during a background briefing about when new cases might fall below 100 by saying, "It is judged to be not easy," and added, "We believe that the effect will appear only after vaccination has progressed considerably."

Regarding the recent trend in new cases, Son said, "Currently, it is rather fortunate that cases are not increasing," and analyzed, "The trend is similar to last week or shows a slight decrease, but since there was a holiday causing a reduction in testing, it is difficult to make a definitive judgment."

He noted, "There are many 'unknown route' cases where the infection route is not identified in the community, and considering that new cases are arising through contact with confirmed patients, it indicates that there are quite a few infected individuals at the community level." He continued, "This situation could rapidly increase the outbreak, but by strengthening quarantine measures to some extent and combining proactive testing and epidemiological investigations with vaccination, we believe the spread is being suppressed."

The authorities also stated that "it is not desirable to strongly enforce quarantine measures just to reduce cases below 100." Son explained, "Reducing the number of cases below 100 by social distancing alone is difficult because the spread at the community level is too extensive, and it is not easy without very strong measures."

He added, "Even if cases drop to that level, there is a risk of them rising again," and emphasized, "An approach that strongly enforces distancing or quarantine measures at the cost of social and economic expenses to reduce cases below 100 is not desirable."

Son Young-rae, Head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters [Image source=Yonhap News]

Son also explained that until next month, when the first half of the year’s vaccination targeting the elderly and others is completed, the focus will be on maintaining the number of confirmed cases below 1,000. He said, "If the number of confirmed cases is stably maintained below 1,000, the risk level will be significantly lowered afterward, allowing quarantine measures to be eased under a system that manages cases below a certain threshold."