Still Around 700 Cases... Government Plans 'Return to Normal' with July Social Distancing Easing and Full School Attendance in September

400~700 Cases Persist for Months
Government Strives to Encourage Vaccination
Emphasizes Expectations for Daily Life Recovery Including Eased Quarantine Measures

On the 30th, citizens are waiting to be tested at the COVID-19 Jung-gu temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul Station Plaza. The government extended the current social distancing levels of Level 2 in the metropolitan area and Level 1.5 in non-metropolitan areas for three more weeks until the 23rd of next month. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The number of COVID-19 confirmed cases has yet to show a clear downward trend. Daily confirmed cases consistently remain in the 500 to 600 range, with weekday numbers exceeding 700 for over a month. Meanwhile, as the government’s ‘Recovery Plan’ to encourage vaccination is gradually being detailed, concerns are rising that the situation could worsen again due to messages suggesting that the quarantine situation is under control.

On the 13th, the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) announced that as of midnight, 715 new domestic COVID-19 cases were confirmed, bringing the total to 129,633. Of these, 692 were locally transmitted cases, and 23 were imported cases.

Jeon Hae-cheol, the 2nd Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH), stated during the CDSCH meeting, “Today’s number of confirmed cases is the largest in fifteen days since April 28 (769 cases). Although the infection reproduction number over the past week is 0.94, the lowest since April, the test positivity rate continues to rise at 2.0%,” expressing concern.

On the same day, 4,408 people received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, bringing the cumulative total to 3,711,023. The proportion of first-dose recipients relative to the total population is 7.2%. Additionally, 82,890 people received their second dose the previous day, bringing the total to 747,707 as of that day.

Especially since this month, vaccination for the general public, mainly targeting the elderly, has been in full swing, the government is considering various incentives to encourage vaccination. These include exemptions from mandatory self-quarantine for overseas travel for those fully vaccinated, as well as the possibility of easing personal quarantine rules such as social distancing and the ban on private gatherings of five or more people, which have caused significant social fatigue.

The health authorities stated the day before that if the number of patients is stably managed and vaccination proceeds smoothly, restrictions such as the ban on private gatherings of five or more people could be eased as early as June. This suggests that quarantine measures could be adjusted faster than the previously indicated July timeline for the application of a more relaxed new social distancing scheme. The Ministry of Education also announced plans to fully reopen kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools starting from the second semester in September.

However, some experts point out that while it is necessary to raise expectations for recovery in the second half of the year to encourage vaccination, it is still too early to talk about easing quarantine measures. In particular, large-scale confirmed cases around 500 daily have continued for months, accumulating ‘hidden infections’ with unknown sources, and the threat of variant viruses has recently increased.

On the same day, 150 confirmed cases were identified at temporary screening clinics in the Seoul metropolitan area, accounting for one in every three confirmed cases in the region. Additionally, 13 cases were detected at temporary screening clinics set up in some non-metropolitan areas.

The variant viruses, known to have higher transmissibility, are also a concern. As of the 11th, a total of 808 cases of the three major variants?UK, South Africa, and Brazil?have been confirmed domestically. When including epidemiologically linked cases presumed to be variant infections due to confirmed contact, the number is feared to approach 2,000. Adding cases of the India variant, as well as variants from California and New York in the U.S., and the UK-Nigeria variant, the total number of confirmed variant infections in the country rises to 2,473.