[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] On the 22nd, the government unveiled a draft of the quarantine guidelines for the "Distancing in Daily Life" (생활방역) to be implemented from June 6.
Yoon Tae-ho, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters' quarantine team, stated at a regular briefing at the Government Sejong Complex that morning, "After review by the Living Quarantine Committee and others, the basic and supplementary personal quarantine guidelines will be finalized and distributed."
The basic personal quarantine guidelines include: ▲ staying home for 3 to 4 days if feeling sick ▲ maintaining a healthy distance of two arm lengths between people ▲ washing hands for 30 seconds and coughing into the sleeve ▲ ventilating at least twice daily and periodic disinfection ▲ keeping hearts close even if distances grow apart, totaling five items.
The supplementary guidelines consist of: ▲ wearing masks ▲ environmental disinfection ▲ adherence to lifestyle rules for seniors aged 65 and above and high-risk groups ▲ maintaining healthy living habits, four items in total.
The basic group quarantine guidelines include: ▲ collective effort by the community ▲ appointing a quarantine manager within the community ▲ creating and adhering to community quarantine guidelines ▲ group protection such as fever checks ▲ actively cooperating with the quarantine manager, five items in total.
Yoon, head of the quarantine team, said, "Communities must appoint a 'quarantine manager' responsible for quarantine management and create community quarantine guidelines by referring to the supplementary group quarantine guidelines (detailed instructions) to be released on the 24th." The quarantine manager is responsible for checking members' temperatures and respiratory symptoms, and employers and community members must actively cooperate with the quarantine manager's requests.
Additionally, the government plans to prepare and sequentially release supplementary guidelines for offices, public transportation, restaurants, shopping facilities, wedding halls, funeral halls, and other places, with each responsible ministry in charge.
Yoon emphasized, "We must accept the fact that it will be difficult to return to pre-COVID-19 daily life for a considerable period. Social distancing will inevitably fluctuate flexibly depending on the scale of infection transmission, and distancing in daily life must become a personal routine."
He added, "It is still premature to conclude whether we will immediately transition to distancing in daily life after May 6. The decision to extend social distancing or transition to distancing in daily life will be made through future risk assessments and discussions by the Living Quarantine Committee and others."
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