Prime Minister Jeong: "Better to Bear Costs Than Confusion... Continue Strict Social Distancing"

"COVID-19 Global Pandemic, Difficult for Anyone to Predict"

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is presiding over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on COVID-19 at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 3rd. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun stated on the 4th that regarding the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), "We have no choice but to continue high-intensity social distancing for a certain period."

Prime Minister Chung made this remark during his opening remarks at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting on COVID-19 held at the Government Seoul Office on the same day.

He emphasized, "Prevention is better than treatment after infection, and enduring and bearing the costs is a better choice than uncontrollable chaos."

Prime Minister Chung acknowledged, "We are well aware that social distancing involves enormous sacrifices and costs," but explained, "However, this is not a situation where we can let our guard down." He added, "If we become lax now, the efforts made so far could vanish like a bubble."

He said, "Domestic infections have not yet reached a level where children can be sent to school," and "The infection trend in the Seoul metropolitan area, the most densely populated region, has not yet calmed down."

He also explained, "The number of infected people worldwide has quickly surpassed one million, and no one can predict how long the global pandemic will continue."