Acting Prime Minister Hong: "525 Cases Confirmed Yesterday... Full Effort to Reduce Below 500"

COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting

Hong Nam-ki, Acting Prime Minister, is speaking at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting on COVID-19 response held at the Government Seoul Office on the 7th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] Hong Nam-ki, Acting Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for Economy, said on the 7th, "The number of confirmed cases yesterday was 525," adding, "We will make every effort to reduce the number of confirmed cases to below 500 through nationwide special quarantine efforts."

Acting Prime Minister Hong chaired the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting for COVID-19 at the Government Seoul Office that morning and said, "Throughout April, the weekly average daily confirmed cases were in the 600s, but as of today in the first week of May, it has decreased to 568, in the 500s." He continued, "The weekly infection reproduction number, which mostly stayed above 1 in April, is expected to remain below 1 in the first week of May," adding, "Despite the large fluctuations in daily confirmed cases, it is fortunate that there is an overall decreasing trend or room for improvement."

However, Acting Prime Minister Hong expressed concern, saying, "We cannot help but feel tension and worry about the emergence of cluster infections here and there since early May," and emphasized again, "The cause is attributed to some negligence somewhere in the multi-layered defense system, including refraining from gatherings, reducing contact, compliance with rules, and personal quarantine. The most powerful solution to reduce confirmed cases is the active and voluntary participation of the public and thorough quarantine and compliance."

Regarding the recent growing concerns about the spread of variant viruses domestically, he said, "The quarantine authorities are also thoroughly conducting extensive preemptive diagnostic tests and epidemiological investigations," and urged, "Special efforts must be made to block the possible inflow of the so-called 'India variant virus,' which might occur."

Acting Prime Minister Hong stated, "In May and June, we will focus our quarantine capabilities on efforts to reduce confirmed cases through strengthened special quarantine and on building herd immunity through expanded vaccination," and added, "Regarding vaccination, as promised to the public, we will steadily push forward to achieve the vaccination target of at least 12 million plus α by the end of June without any setbacks."