The health authorities decided to conclude on the 31st by delaying the announcement of the social distancing adjustment plan originally scheduled for the 29th. In a situation where the number of patients is increasing again due to the recent impact of group infections initiated by IM missions, it is difficult to objectively determine whether a temporary increase or not, etc., and the authorities will observe the trend of the occurrence of patients over two days, the authorities said.
Tae-ho Yoon, Head of the Central Accident Control Headquarters yunhap news
“It is difficult to judge if it is a temporary increase or if the increase has turned around”
On the 29th, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters announced on the 31st that it would announce the distancing adjustment plan that will be applied after February 1st through a script briefing on the 31st. The announcement on the day will include the adjustment of the current distancing stage (the 2.5th stage in the metropolitan area, the 2nd stage in the non-metropolitan area) and the extension of the ban on private meetings with more than 5 people.
As the current distancing period is until the 31st, we tried to announce the announcement on the 29th, two days before the end, but the recent spread was unclear, so we decided to delay the announcement and observe the situation more. In the last week (1.23~29), the number of new patients per day averaged 448. The number of patients with local outbreaks, which is a key indicator of the adjustment of the distance stage, has risen to 400 again to 421. The authorities are paying close attention to the extent to which infections from the recent IM missions will spread. Until the day before, 340 people were confirmed in 5 provinces and 6 related facilities.
Tae-ho Yoon, head of the quarantine prevention headquarters at the Central Accident Control Headquarters, said at a briefing on the 29th, “This week (the number of patients) is increasing to the level of 400~500.” You need to be more careful about the situation. At that level, it is necessary to objectively diagnose the current situation and determine how to adjust it while watching over time.”
In this regard, Sohn Young-rae, head of the social strategy team, Jung Soo-bon, said, “I made an announcement with as little as two days as possible to allow the affected people to respond.” In this case, it is very difficult to interpret the pattern of patient occurrence. It is necessary to judge whether it is only a temporary increase or whether the decline has turned to an increase again.”
On the 28th, the building of IEM International School under IM Mission in Daejeon is showing a busy appearance. Daejeon City closed the school until the 14th of next month. Central photo
“Because the day-to-day patient epidemic can be used as an important analysis, we will inevitably watch the situation until Sunday and use this judgment to decide on a distancing adjustment plan,” said Son. “There will be an inevitable aspect of confusion in the field,” said Son, adding, “If you don’t make good initial judgments, your judgments can be out of order, so even if you can earn two more days, we will analyze the current trend further and decide.”
The authorities have initially considered easing the phase adjustment in consideration of the recent slowdown of the spread and fatigue caused by prolonged distance. The Living Prevention Committee also expressed some sympathy in this area. However, it is known that a majority of members have to extend the ban on private gatherings with more than 5 people and the restrictions on business at 9 pm. This is because the New Year holidays are ahead and the spread of vaccinations is approaching, and it is necessary to reliably stabilize the spread.
On the 28th, medical staff are examining citizens who visited the Corona 19 temporary screening clinic in the parking lot of Hanbat Gymnasium in Jung-gu, Daejeon. Central photo
Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun also remarked in all the scripts on the day, “(The current increase) is difficult to determine as a temporary phenomenon caused by large-scale group infection from IM Mission, and some experts interpret it as a precursor to the pandemic.” He said, “I am very careful as the bank of quarantine that has been accumulated through the patience and participation of the people can be destroyed in an instant.”
“We are discussing closely what additional measures will be taken that do not increase the number of patients while balancing quarantine and social acceptance,” said Yun Tae-ho.
Reporter Hwang Soo-yeon [email protected]