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A man enters the COVID-19 testing area in Seoul, South Korea, on December 13, 2020 – Photo: REUTERS
According to Reuters, schools in and around Seoul will switch to online learning later this month.
It seems that the social gap measures in the past in Korea have not come into effect, so they cannot reverse the trend of the epidemic rising again.
The country is facing a new wave of epidemics with more serious severity than the previous outbreak in February.
Under the hierarchy of levels of regulations that implement the social gap in Korea, the school closings is another step toward imposing Stage 3 regulations that essentially shut down the fund. The fourth largest economy in Asia.
In the third stage of social disruption, only workers in essential sectors can go to work and meetings are limited to fewer than 10 people.
South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said this is a step that will need to be carefully considered and evaluated before making a decision. However, the Korean government is also facing increasing public pressure on the need for an effective solution to prevent the epidemic.
“The government will not hesitate to make the decision to go up to stage 3 if it deems it necessary after receiving comments from the relevant ministries, local authorities and experts,” Chung Sye said. Kyun speaks during a meeting with medical officials.
On December 14, the South Korean Agency for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said the country had 718 new cases, down from the previous record of 1,030 cases per day. However, it is concerning when among the new cases there are 682 cases of infection in the community.
Most of the new cases have been reported in the capital Seoul, in the neighboring port city of Incheon and in Gyeonggi province (home to more than 25 million people).
The total number of COVID-19 cases in Korea so far is 43,484, of which 587 people died.
The Korean government has also launched a large-scale disease traceability campaign that involved hundreds of soldiers, police and officials.
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South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said the number of new registered infections decreased in part because less testing was done over the weekends.
South Korea has recorded hundreds of new infections every day in recent weeks in the community, mostly concentrated in the Greater Seoul area, which accounts for about half of South Korea’s total population.
Many experts and citizens urged the government to raise the limit to prevent the epidemic from spreading to the highest level, but Prime Minister Chung Sye Kyun said on December 14 that great care is needed when deciding this.
“Applying the social gap level 3 is our last option, it requires careful consideration, social trust and consensus on the effectiveness of this measure,” Mr. Chung said at the meeting. meeting of the Steering Committee for the response to a pandemic.
He stated that the government “will not hesitate to make bold decisions” when necessary and explained that the authorities are collecting enough comments from the relevant ministries, local authorities and experts.
Now it is important that people strictly follow the recommended antivirus measures.
“More than ever, we must overcome the crisis by following disease control guidelines and implementing a serious social gap,” Chung said.
Korea has 5 levels of social gap. The Seoul neighborhood currently applies Tier 2, while the rest of the country applies Tier 2, the lightest tier.
In total, South Korea recorded 43,484 COVID-19 cases and 587 deaths.
D. KIM THOA – HONG VAN
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