[Desk Column] 'Proactive' Social Distancing Measures Need to Be Strengthened

On January 20th last year, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported in South Korea. One year and six months have passed since then. As of midnight on the 15th, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country reached 173,511, with 2,050 deaths. Throughout this period, all citizens endured by wearing masks indoors and outdoors and using hand sanitizers. Due to the '4th wave' of the pandemic, social distancing measures in the metropolitan area were raised to level 4 on the 12th. Ordinary citizens, especially small business owners, are once again experiencing an extreme 'time of hardship.' Dissatisfaction with the government is also rising. Nevertheless, people continue to endure. In recent days, the daily number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has exceeded 1,600, and bleak forecasts suggest it will soon surpass 2,000.

In the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis, we learned a painful lesson in securing vaccines. While the government hesitated and delayed securing vaccines early, COVID-19 overwhelmed our daily lives. If vaccines had been secured proactively, this summer would not have been so painful. In urgent situations like a pandemic outbreak, government decisions are crucial. It is also common sense that experts should respond to this crisis through collective intelligence.

The Blue House and quarantine authorities, which have taken on the role of the control tower for the COVID-19 crisis, should be composed of top experts and listen to the opinions of other specialists. If Jeong Eun-kyung, the Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, is the field commander, then Ki Moran, the Blue House's Quarantine Planning Officer, is the command headquarters. The field commander participates in battles daily according to the situation, but the command headquarters decides the direction of the war. The command headquarters sometimes makes political judgments. Since Ki Moran was appointed as the Quarantine Planning Officer, controversy over 'why quarantine is entrusted to a non-expert' has not subsided. Even as the '4th wave' phase began, responsibility questions toward the Blue House surfaced.

The quarantine authorities are negative about applying uniform social distancing levels to non-metropolitan areas. Since situations vary by region, applying uniform quarantine measures could violate fairness. There are also concerns that the damage might outweigh the quarantine effects and that public acceptance could decrease. There is some merit to this argument. However, this is the most difficult time since the COVID-19 crisis began. Facilities to accommodate confirmed cases in the metropolitan area are already insufficient. In non-metropolitan areas, medical facilities to support treatment are also inadequate. If a large number of confirmed cases occur in non-metropolitan areas, it will be even harder to respond.

Gyeonggi Province, where social distancing level 4 is applied, borders Chungcheong Province and Gangwon Province. Chungcheong and Gangwon are under level 2 social distancing. Crossing just one bridge or a main road means one area is at level 4 while the other is at level 2. We already live within a half-day living zone. Using high-speed rail, it takes only 2 hours and 30 minutes to reach Busan or Mokpo from Seoul. By plane, it takes less than an hour. When the metropolitan area entered level 4, some people travel to Chungcheong or Gangwon to enjoy nightlife. How can we stop citizens from traveling domestically during the summer vacation season? Differentiating social distancing levels between the metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas implicitly sends a message to metropolitan residents to go to non-metropolitan areas for vacation. If social distancing is not proactively raised, we may face another failure. The burden of that pain falls on the people.