President Moon Holds Press Briefing on Flight Home... "Necessary Quarantine Measures Must Be Maintained as We Restore Daily Life"
[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] President Moon Jae-in stated that South Korea will become the country with the highest COVID-19 vaccination rate in the world by next month and expressed his intention to consider 'With Corona.' This means maintaining necessary quarantine measures while restoring daily life.
On the 23rd, President Moon held a meeting with the Blue House press corps on Air Force One, the presidential aircraft, and said, "I think the vaccination completion rate will exceed 70% by the end of next month. At that time, we should also consider 'With Corona.'"
President Moon emphasized, "I believe that we will become the leading country in the world in terms of vaccination rates."
President Moon said, "In countries where vaccinations progressed quickly, many cases have been seen where quarantine measures were significantly relaxed but then confirmed cases increased again, causing difficulties," adding, "Going forward, 'With Corona' does not mean lifting all quarantine measures. We need to maintain the minimum necessary quarantine measures while restoring daily life."
President Moon said, "Experts have begun discussing plans on how to restore daily life while maintaining certain quarantine measures once a certain level of vaccination is achieved," and added, "I think we will be able to inform the public of such plans more concretely around next month."
President Moon also shared his views on South Korea’s role as a key part of the global vaccine hub. He mentioned that he met with the Pfizer chairman in the U.S. and that there were significant achievements at the business tables between Korean and U.S. quarantine and vaccine-related companies. He also explained that the recent vaccine donation to Vietnam was a decision made considering South Korea’s sufficient vaccine supply.
President Moon said, "There have been achievements such as vaccine swaps with the UK, vaccine donations to Vietnam, enhancing international cooperation, and increasing vaccine accessibility for latecomer countries as a responsible member of the international community," adding, "Regarding whether we can secure enough vaccines, I believe the worrying stage is now over."
President Moon added, "In fact, there is no problem securing vaccine quantities this year. However, the initial arrival of vaccines was slightly delayed, so the initial progress was a bit slower than other countries, but we caught up quickly."
President Moon said, "As can be seen from the vaccine donation to Vietnam, we now have enough surplus to help other countries," adding, "We plan to use surplus vaccines to assist latecomer countries, and there is no need to worry about the vaccine quantities required for our citizens’ vaccinations."
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