Confirmed Cases in 600s After 13 Days... Authorities Say "Temporary Phenomenon, Will Maintain Eased Quarantine Measures"

On the 21st, the screening clinic set up at Chuncheon City Health Center in Gangwon is crowded with citizens waiting for COVID-19 tests. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The daily number of new COVID-19 cases rose to 645, entering the 600s for the first time in 13 days. However, health authorities view this as a temporary surge and maintain their stance to continue with the planned easing measures, including the introduction of the new social distancing system scheduled for the 1st of next month.

On the 23rd, Yoon Tae-ho, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters' quarantine task force, said at a regular briefing, regarding the sharp increase in confirmed cases, "There is a tendency for the number of patients to increase on Wednesdays to Fridays when the 'weekend effect' disappears. While this might be seen as somewhat higher than expected, caution is needed when judging based on a single day's patient count."

Yoon stated, "The appearance of 600-level cases today is due to a sudden increase in patient numbers after a gradual decline over the past two weeks," adding, "I don't think the quarantine policy needs to be shaken by such one- or two-day situations." He emphasized, "I continue to stress that the overall trend is the most important factor, and fluctuations in patient numbers over one or two days have been occurring continuously."

Yoon also mentioned that, consistent with this quarantine policy, the easing of measures scheduled for the 1st of next month will proceed once the vaccination population reaches a certain level. He requested, "The new distancing reform has been prepared by comprehensively considering quarantine and medical response capacities. Please understand it as a stepwise measure toward recovery of daily life."

He further assured regarding variant viruses, "We are thoroughly prepared," and urged, "There is no need to be particularly anxious yet." However, he noted, "The possibility of continued spread of variant viruses cannot be ruled out," and emphasized that very ample hospital beds are currently maintained, and rational adjustment plans are being prepared step-by-step according to the situation.