Optimism grows as S. Korea records lowest number of cases in 41 days

Current social distancing levels could still continue, officials say

Medical workers are on standby Monday morning to provide COVID-19 checks at a temporary diagnostics center installed near the Seoul Station. (Yonhap)

South Korea is mulling whether to readjust its social distancing rules as optimism rises from a continued fall in the daily count of new coronavirus cases.

The country on Monday saw 451 new COVID-19 cases -- 419 locally transmitted and 32 from overseas -- raising the total number of cases recorded here to 69,114, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

Monday’s tally is the lowest figure recorded since 451 new cases were confirmed Dec. 1. The daily number of new cases has also stayed below 1,000 for seven days in a row.

Yet the number of new cases could have fallen partly because fewer tests were conducted over the weekend.

Korea conducted 28,222 tests throughout Sunday, down from 33,848 checks a day earlier and 59,612 tests done on Friday. About 190,000 people are still waiting for their results.

In addition, due to the cold weather during the weekend, a number of COVID-19 test facilities shortened operation hours and accommodated fewer visitors.

By Sunday’s end, Korea had also reported a total of 1,140 deaths from the coronavirus, up 15 from a day earlier. The number of COVID-19 patients in serious or critical condition reached 395, down from 401 people a day earlier.

While it is thought that Korea’s ongoing third COVID-19 wave has passed its peak, authorities are cautious about lowering the current social distancing levels in fear of a resurgence.

“If we want to lower the social distancing rules from Level 2.5 to 2, the number of new cases per day should be below the range between 400 and 500,” said Health Ministry official Son Young-rae in a press briefing Sunday.

“This standard is important in actually making adjustments to social distancing levels.”

Until Jan. 17, the government is imposing Level 2.5 social distancing rules in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province and Level 2 rules for the rest of the country. An additional ban on private gatherings of five or more people is to expire on the same date.

Son said the government is reviewing whether to continue imposing the current social distancing level for different regions but make adjustments to some rules as a means to lower the burden on small businesses while continuing to prevent mass gatherings by limiting the number of participants.

Officials had mentioned that the Greater Seoul area would allow high-risk entertainment businesses such as bars, clubs and karaoke places to operate after Jan. 17. Indoor sports facilities since Friday have been allowed to operate with a cap of nine children at a time.

They warned that the number of new cases per day might not drop quickly, as the infection routes were unknown in a sizable portion of cases.

According to government data, officials are still trying to ascertain the sources of infection for a quarter of the 5,413 cases confirmed over the past week.

KDCA Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong said in a press briefing Monday that the agency forecasts the number of daily cases will hover between 600 and 700 throughout next week, as the threat of community-level infections remains significant.

An additional factor in the decision is the spread of the more transmissible COVID-19 variant first reported in Britain. Korea had reported 16 confirmed cases of the new variant by Monday afternoon.

In response, the country on Friday started mandating negative COVID-19 test results for foreigners arriving in Korea. The tests must be taken within 72 hours of departure. Arriving passengers are also required to undergo additional testing throughout their two-week mandatory self-quarantine.

A ban on flights from Britain that started in Dec. 23 is in effect until Jan. 21.

Korea is also working toward a nationwide vaccination program and has secured enough doses from foreign drugmakers for 56 million people. The plan is to start inoculations next month with front-line medical workers and members of vulnerable populations.

It was vowed that vaccines will be provided for free to all Koreans.

The first vaccine to be provided to Koreans will be the one from AstraZeneca next month, followed by those from Janssen and Moderna in the second quarter, and others made by Pfizer-BioNTech in the third quarter.

With the COVID-19 pandemic taking a toll on the population, the government is introducing and discussing measures to support people who have been affected.

The Health Ministry and the KDCA said Monday that they will spend 900 billion won ($820.78 million) to support medical facilities and households that have experienced losses due to COVID-19.

Hospitals, pharmacies and clinics whose operations were limited by COVID-19 will be compensated, and some portion of the funds will be used to strengthen the workforce to run more COVID-19 checks and provide treatment to patients.

Low-income households will also be compensated if they can prove a loss of income.

Since last week, officials and lawmakers have also started reviewing whether to provide emergency relief funds for the fourth time since the outbreak started in January last year.

Korea has so far allocated three rounds of emergency relief payments to help people weather the pandemic. The latest started official distribution Monday to small merchants whose profits were affected by the government restrictions.

By Ko Jun-tae (ko.juntae@heraldcorp.com)

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