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| Citizens who visited the Corona 19 Screening Clinic at the Dongjak-gu Public Health Center in Seoul on the morning of Lunar New Year’s Day, the nation’s largest holiday on the 12th, are waiting in line to receive a Corona 19 test. (Provided by Dongjak-gu) 2021.2.12/News1 © News1 Reporter Seongcheol Lee |
The government will announce a social distancing adjustment plan that will be applied next week at 11 am on the 13th. It is planned to decide whether or not the measures to continue the ban on private gatherings of 5 or more people nationwide are to be decided in the implementation of the 2.5 steps to distance the metropolitan area, the second step to distance the non-capital areas, and to ease the operation restrictions at 9 pm for multi-use facilities in the metropolitan area.
Earlier, the government allowed extended operation of multi-use facilities from the 8th to 10pm in the case of the non-metropolitan area, where the number of confirmed cases decreased due to the accumulation of fatigue caused by the prolonged distance. However, as the risk of infection in the metropolitan area has not decreased, a warning light was turned on for further mitigation measures next week.
According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters on the 13th, the average number of confirmed cases per week for one week excluding overseas inflows was 356 as of 0 o’clock on the 12th. In terms of the number of confirmed cases alone, the level of social distancing is the 2nd stage of 300-400 per day, but the number of confirmed cases per day has increased slightly.
In particular, the number of confirmed cases is increasing in the metropolitan area. From 6th to 12th of this month, the number of confirmed daily regional outbreaks in the metropolitan area for the last week was 284, up 22.4 from 261.6 on average in the previous metropolitan area.
As of 0 o’clock, the number of confirmed cases in the metropolitan area decreased from 274 on the 6th to 264 on the 7th and 207 on the 8th, and then recorded 217 on the 9th, which seemed to stabilize the spread. However, the situation changed as 344 confirmed cases occurred at 0 o’clock on the 10th.
In the metropolitan area alone, 344 confirmed patients on the 10th and 383 confirmed on the 11th, the scale of the outbreak increased again. On the 12th, the number of confirmed cases decreased again to 299, but the number of testers was reduced by half due to the Lunar New Year holidays.
The quarantine authorities assessed that the risk of infection in the community remains unchanged. In the metropolitan area, cases of group infection occurred one after another in various places, including family spreads, saunas, nursing hospitals, and religious facilities.
In fact, more than 100 confirmed cases related to the Seungri Foundation (Yeongsaenggyo) in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province this week. The cumulative confirmed number is 123 as of 0 o’clock on the 12th, and additional infections are emerging from members of the church member, member family, and tutoring academy students where the member confirmed the member worked through contact tracking management.
Smaller group infections have also occurred. At the sauna in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, 12 more have been confirmed since the first confirmed case on February 8, and 13 more have been added since the first confirmed case on February 5 at the Eunpyeong-gu nursing facility.
Moreover, considering the increased movement between regions across the country during the Lunar New Year holidays, it will be difficult to easily lower the level of quarantine. In Yecheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do, a total of two family members in their teens and 20s who visited their hometown during the Lunar New Year holidays were confirmed.
The quarantine authorities also aim to reduce the number of confirmed cases as much as possible before vaccination. Considering that the currently scheduled vaccination start date is the 26th of this month, it is necessary to control the spread of further infections through social distancing for two weeks starting on the 15th of this month.
Prior to the meeting for discussion of distance adjustment the day before, Kwon Deok-cheol said, “I am well aware of the difficulties of small business owners and self-employed people due to business restrictions due to distance distancing, and I am heartbreaking.” We will come up with a wise plan in total.”