[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun stated on the 21st, "Starting this week, we have begun comprehensive testing of 160,000 inpatients and workers at nursing hospitals located in the metropolitan area, and from tomorrow, we will conduct special inspections on quarantine conditions at about 8,000 nursing hospitals nationwide for two weeks."
At the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting on COVID-19 held at the Government Sejong Complex that day, Prime Minister Chung said, "The quarantine authorities should promptly prepare improvement measures for the issues revealed by the inspections, and especially considering that many transmission cases occur through workers, they should devise effective measures to block infection sources from outside."
Prime Minister Chung mentioned, "Large academies resumed operations from last week, and from this week, in-person classes have expanded nationwide. Although the COVID-19 situation is not yet clearly stable, considering the concerns about academic achievement gaps due to prolonged social distancing, increased caregiving burdens, and the spread of COVID-19 depression that most students and parents are experiencing, this decision was made after careful consideration."
He continued, "We have taken a difficult step toward normalization, but two days ago, an instructor at a large academy in Gangnam tested positive, causing anxiety among students preparing for the college entrance exam and many parents. Schools and academies, where crowding and movement are repeated, can easily become sites of cluster infections and have a very high potential to become transmission links to the local community. Without thorough quarantine support at schools or academies, returning to daily life will be difficult," expressing concern.
He then urged, "I ask local education offices, local governments, and parent communities, as members of the local community, to join forces and practice field-centered decentralized quarantine."
Prime Minister Chung said, "Since the second half of the year, mask production has greatly increased, and now we have reached a situation where we need to worry about accumulating inventory. The government will lift export restrictions from the 23rd to open up opportunities for the mask industry."
He also said, "Influenza vaccinations for seniors aged 70 and over have started this week. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and local governments are requested to provide detailed guidance and careful support so that seniors do not experience inconvenience at the sites."
He added, "I will also personally visit vaccination sites today to check if there are any points to improve."
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