COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting
"Expansion of Temporary Screening Clinics in Non-Metropolitan Areas... Active Support for Preemptive Testing in Vulnerable Facilities by Local Governments"
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is speaking while presiding over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting for COVID-19 response held at the Government Seoul Office on the 7th. 2021.3.7 Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun stated on the 7th, "We will significantly expand testing capacity to 500,000 tests per day to proactively identify sources of infection," adding, "We will also expand temporary screening clinics to non-metropolitan areas and actively support preemptive testing of vulnerable facilities at the local government level." This is a measure to proactively block the fourth wave of COVID-19.
On the afternoon of the same day, Prime Minister Chung chaired the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting at the Government Seoul Office and said, "If COVID-19 spreads again at the point when vaccination has just begun, the time for the much-desired return to normal life by the people will become increasingly distant." He also added, "We will add the incidence rate of variant viruses by country as a criterion for designating countries with strengthened quarantine measures to further enhance quarantine levels and strengthen management of those in self-quarantine. Even if 2,000 confirmed cases continue to occur daily, we will preemptively expand the capacity of the medical system so that hospital beds and medical personnel are not insufficient."
Prime Minister Chung expressed concern, saying, "Although we have passed the major hurdle of the third wave that began last winter, the frustrating situation continues with daily confirmed cases stagnating at 300 to 400 for seven consecutive weeks. Recently, large-scale cluster infections have occurred mainly in areas densely populated by foreign workers or workplaces, so the embers of re-spread remain alive and it is a precarious situation."
Also, a week after expanding in-person classes, there have been no large-scale cluster infections within schools, but confirmed student cases have occurred in some regions due to school sports team training camps or transmission among family members. Prime Minister Chung urged, "We must strengthen quarantine management at schools. The Ministry of Education, local education offices, and frontline schools should once again check for any gaps in quarantine and actively implement necessary supplementary measures."
Meanwhile, at the COVID-19 vaccine and treatment status review meeting held that morning, Prime Minister Chung emphasized regarding vaccine adverse reactions and death cases, "We will not take even a single case lightly and will clarify the cause and causality through experts and report to the public. Once results are available, we will transparently disclose them as they are. The public should trust the government and continue to participate in vaccination."
He also stated, "False and manipulated information related to vaccination is still rampant on the internet and social networking services (SNS). The government defines the production and distribution of false and manipulated information as a 'crime' that obstructs the people's wish for a return to normal life and will respond strictly at the highest level." He further urged, "Portal sites and SNS operators should take responsibility and actively monitor false and manipulated information regularly and take necessary actions such as deletion or blocking."
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