On the morning of the 15th, the ‘2021 New Year’s Ticket Reservation Guide’ is hung in the waiting room of Seoul Station. Korea Railroad (KORAIL) and SR will sell tickets for the New Year train on the 19th and 21st and 26th and 28th, respectively. Like Chuseok last year, it is sold 100% non-face-to-face, such as online and by phone. To keep the distance between passengers, only window seats are sold, and KTX 4 passengers only sell 1 seat. The number of reservations per person is limited to 4 tickets one way (3 tickets one way for phone calls).
The current social distancing to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) and the’prohibition of private gatherings with more than 5 people’ have been extended for two weeks until the 31st of this month. The quarantine authorities believe that this measure played a key role in restraining the spread of the third pandemic, and are considering whether to extend it to the Lunar New Year holiday in the future.
At a briefing on the 17th, Sohn Young-rae, head of the social strategy team at the Central Accident Control Headquarters, said about the possibility that the ban on meetings of more than 5 people will be extended until the Lunar New Year holidays. The current trend itself is a pattern that is widely spreading around private contact, so it seems that this measure of banning private gatherings with more than 5 people is achieving a very effective goal in terms of quarantine.”
Mr. Son said, “The fact that the occurrence of 500 patients in the current quarantine situation itself is a part that is not yet reassuring, which was also the basis for the judgment of extending the ban on private gatherings for more than five people by two weeks.” It is judged that it is too early to decide whether or not to extend private meetings with more than 5 people until now.”
The current social distancing is the 2.5th stage in the metropolitan area and the 2nd stage in the non-capital area. Separately, a ban on private gatherings of 5 or more people has been imposed nationwide. According to this, all gatherings of five or more people are prohibited except when families with the same living space gather, when it is necessary for caring for children, the elderly, and the disabled, or when there is a possibility of dying and family members living elsewhere. If this measure is extended until the Lunar New Year holidays, gathering of family members and relatives who do not live in the same house for resident registration is also prohibited. Even if a family of 3 to 4 visits their parents living separately, it becomes difficult to visit their hometown itself during the Lunar New Year holidays because it exceeds ‘5’. This was not done during Chuseok last year.
Sohn said, “While observing the trend for two weeks, we reviewed how quickly the outbreak is rapidly declining and the risk of the remaining outbreaks, and banned private gatherings with more than 5 people until the Lunar New Year holidays. We will decide whether to extend the quarantine measures or not.”
Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Kwon Deok-cheol (Minister of Health and Welfare) announced a special quarantine measure for the Lunar New Year holidays at a briefing the day before and said, “I ask the citizens to refrain from visiting their hometowns, relatives, and traveling this New Year. It is unlikely that the third epidemic will significantly decrease until the Lunar New Year holiday, so if you make a mistake, your parents, family, relatives, and our neighbors may be at risk. Now is the time to be together with the heart rather than meeting.”
In order to reduce the amount of travel during the Lunar New Year holidays, the government only sells window seats and considers paying expressway tolls during the Lunar New Year holidays like last Chuseok. In addition, the rest area plans to operate a congestion information system to prevent congestion while banning indoor eating.
Reporter Esther [email protected]