Jeong Sye-gyun "Closely Monitoring COVID-19 Spread... Cautious About Adjusting Social Distancing"

COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is speaking while presiding over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on COVID-19 response at the Government Complex Sejong in Sejong City on the morning of the 9th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on the 9th, "The government is closely monitoring the spread of (COVID-19) this week and will carefully decide on adjustments to social distancing measures that can prevent the 4th wave by fully reflecting the opinions of quarantine sites and experts."

On the morning of the same day, Prime Minister Chung presided over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting at the Government Complex Sejong and said, "The quarantine authorities are also preparing a more fundamental reform of the social distancing system, but the top priority of quarantine now is to stabilize the 3rd wave as soon as possible and to block the 4th wave in advance." The currently applied social distancing measures are scheduled to end on the 14th, and the government is expected to announce whether to adjust the social distancing levels ahead of this weekend. However, considering that Prime Minister Chung emphasized 'stability' as the top priority, it seems highly likely that the current social distancing levels will be maintained for the time being.

Regarding the eight death cases that occurred after COVID-19 vaccination, Prime Minister Chung said, "According to expert reviews, none of the deaths were recognized as causally related to the vaccination, and it was tentatively judged that the worsening of underlying diseases was highly likely," adding, "The government will continue to thoroughly monitor adverse reactions after vaccination and clearly investigate the causal relationship in death and severe cases, and transparently disclose the results."

Prime Minister Chung also cited the recent forecast by the Bank of Korea that the speed of global economic recovery will depend on the global vaccine supply situation and the achievement of herd immunity, saying, "Vaccination is an important task not only for quarantine but also for the rapid recovery and leap of the economy," and emphasized, "We must achieve the herd immunity goal in November without fail and lead the global economic recovery trend." He then urged, "Please actively participate in vaccination so that our economy can achieve a V-shaped rebound."