<Source: Yonhap News>
As coronavirus disease-19(COVID-19) spreads beyond the Seoul metropolitan area and threatens regions including Gwangju and Daejeon, voices are calling for an upgrade from the current level 1 of ‘Social Distancing’ to level 2.
Those who argue for an upgrade claim the need for a preemptive response since the COVID-19 situation grows to be unusual with an escalated spread, adding more than 60 new virus cases for the third day and an increase in the number of patients whose infection route is unknown.
Today(6th), new daily confirmed cases in Korea recorded above 60 for the third day, 63 on 3rd, 63 on 4th, and 61 on the 5th of this month according to Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters.
It is exceptional to record a similar number of new confirmed cases even though the number of COVID-19 tests conducted on the 5th was greatly reduced to 6,532 compared to the numbers on the 4th(11,762) and 3rd(11,799). It has been 3 months since the nation added over 60 confirmed cases for 3 consecutive days after early April representing that the COVID-19 spread is currently serious.
Although the government has lowered the social distancing rule to level 1, 'distancing in daily life,' two months ago on May 6th, a sense of crisis is mounting at the scenes of quarantine. New sporadic infections occurred in the metropolitan areas including the case at the apartment complex in Uijeongbu following the cluster infections tied to a church, nursing home, and door-to-door businesses.
Also, the number of confirmed cases related to Gwangreuk Temple, a local temple in Gwangju, has risen to 80 in just eight days since the first confirmed case on the 27th of last month, raising concerns over the spread of the infection. In the case of Daejeon, the cluster infection related to door-to-door businesses seemed to slow down, but it is spreading within elementary schools and healthcare facilities.
Local governments of Gwangju-si and Jeollanam-do upgraded the distancing level independently from the central government concerning the status quo. Gwangju-si upgraded the distancing from level 1 to level 2 on July 2nd and banned meetings and gatherings with more than 50 people indoor or 100 people outdoor. Jeollanam-do also turned to level 2 on July 2nd.
However, the central government remains to watch closely on the COVID-19 situation and discreet on the upgrade of social distancing levels. Instead, they tend to actively support regional upgrades by local governments.
Park Neung-hoo, First Assistant Director of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of Health and Welfare) said in a regular briefing yesterday, “The crisis level within level 1(distancing) is stern,”, but still “is not at the point to upgrade the distancing level”.
