Prime Minister Kim: "Rapid Deterioration of Quarantine Situation... Direction for 'Phased Daily Recovery' to Be Decided Tomorrow"

4th Daily Recovery Support Committee

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum is delivering a greeting at the 4th COVID-19 Daily Recovery Support Committee held at the Government Seoul Office on the 25th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum stated on the 25th, "The quarantine situation is rapidly deteriorating," and added, "After careful consideration once again, we will decide on the future direction of the phased recovery of daily life at tomorrow's Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting."

On the morning of the same day, Prime Minister Kim chaired the 4th Daily Recovery Support Committee at the Government Seoul Office and said, "In the metropolitan area, especially among the elderly, infections are spreading rapidly, causing a sharp increase in severe cases and deaths. Looking only at the metropolitan area, the medical response capacity is almost exhausted."

Initially, the government planned to implement 'Phase 1 of the phased daily recovery' for about four weeks starting from the 1st, followed by an additional two-week evaluation period. If the situation improved, they intended to raise the level to Phase 2 and continue gradual daily recovery. However, as the fourth week of Phase 1 of daily recovery approaches, the number of new daily COVID-19 cases has been hovering around 4,000, and the number of critically ill patients has rapidly increased, pushing the medical response system, including securing hospital beds, to its limits.

The Daily Recovery Committee meeting was held to share the recent quarantine situation and gather opinions on future daily recovery promotion plans. Prime Minister Kim said, "There may even be opinions that we should immediately reverse the difficult steps we have taken," and added, "I ask for wise judgment on how to act along with a cold diagnosis of the current situation."

He emphasized, "It is also important to discuss whether the current medical response system is sufficient to support phased daily recovery and what should be supplemented first if improvements are needed," adding, "Until now, we have adhered to the principle of isolating and treating COVID-19 patients, but now there is a continuous call for a major shift in the medical response system to fit the daily recovery."

In particular, Prime Minister Kim said, "Even if confirmed cases increase rapidly during the daily recovery process, 'home treatment' needs to be further expanded to avoid placing a heavy burden on the medical system and to focus on treating critically ill patients," and requested, "Please gather opinions on various alternatives to strengthen quarantine management for the elderly aged 60 and over, who recently accounted for more than half of confirmed cases, as well as for children and adolescents."