Current Distancing Level Extended for 2 More Weeks: Restriction on Private Gatherings of 7 or More People Remain the Same

[경향신문]

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum presides over a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters in response to COVID-19 at the government office in Seoul on the morning of October 1. Yonhap News

On October 1, the government announced that it would extend the current social (physical) distancing level for two more weeks.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum presided over a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting in response to COVID-19 at the government office in Seoul this day and made the announcement during his opening remarks. Thus from October 4 until 17, the distancing measure enforced in the greater Seoul area will be level 4, while it will remain level 3 in all other areas. During this period, there will also be no changes to the government restriction on private gatherings (gatherings of up to six people are permitted).

Prime Minister Kim explained the purpose of the latest decision and said, “We fully understand what the small business owners and storeowners are feeling, as they suffer great pains in their livelihoods due to our continuing efforts to contain an infectious disease, but we believe that the current situation in disease control is too serious to ease distancing measures right away.”

He also said, “However, we adjusted some distancing standards with the emphasis on fully vaccinated people for weddings, first birthdays, and outdoor sports facilities, which many people have complained of, in order to help restore what little of our everyday life that we could.”

The prime minister further said, “The government will begin to prepare a return to daily life this month, when over 70% of the nation’s population are expected to be fully vaccinated” and explained, “We will closely manage the disease control situation along with the vaccine roll out and gradually implement plans, such as easing restrictions on the number of people at gatherings and business hours and improving our medical system.”

Kim said, “To minimize our trial and errors in the process of restoring everyday life, we will promote an orderly transition,” and expressed his intention to collect opinions from various corners of society by gathering a private-public joint support committee to restore everyday life with COVID-19. He said, “In a time of change, we will further tighten our field inspections and crackdowns to stop the public’s awareness of disease control from slackening.”

Prime Minister Kim said, “If we can manage a stable situation in disease control and achieve our vaccination target in the month of October, we will begin restoring our daily lives in November.” He described the upcoming weekend as the first weekend to overcome this challenge and asked the people to refrain from gatherings and traveling.