Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Thursday that the new
measures will be enforced for at least 16 days after taking effect on Saturday,
saying there’s an urgent need to bring the country to a “standstill” with the
delta-driven surge overwhelming stretched hospitals and exhausted medical
workers.
Schools in the densely populated capital Seoul and nearby
metropolitan areas, where the virus has hit hardest, will also go back to
remote learning after fully reopening in November.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported
7,622 new cases on Thursday, close to the daily record of 7,850 set a day
earlier. That brought the national caseload to 544,117, with nearly 97,000
added in December alone.
Most of the transmissions were in the capital region, where
officials say more than 86% of intensive care units designated for COVID-19
treatment are already occupied amid a spike in hospitalizations and deaths.
More than 890 virus patients died this month, bringing the
country’s death toll to 4,518. As of Thursday morning, a record 989 patients
were in serious or critical condition.
“During this period of standstill, the government will
reinforce the stability of our medical response capabilities,” said Kim,
Seoul’s No. 2 behind President Moon Jae-in, during a virus meeting. “We ask our
people to respond to these efforts by actively getting vaccinated.”
The viral surge has been a huge setback for President Moon
Jae-in’s government, which had significantly eased social distancing rules in
November while declaring a phased return to pre-pandemic normalcy.
While focusing on improving the economy, officials had
predicted that the country’s rising vaccination rates would keep
hospitalizations and fatalities down. But there has been a surge in serious
cases among people in their 60s or older, including those whose immunities have
waned after getting inoculated early in the vaccine rollout that began in
February.
More than 81% of the population of over 51 million has been
fully vaccinated, but only 17% of people have received booster shots.
After hesitating for weeks, officials moderately tightened
social distancing rules last week, banning gatherings of seven or more people
in the Seoul metropolitan area and requiring adults to verify their vaccination
status to use restaurants and other businesses, but such measures didn’t
meaningfully slow the virus’ spread.
Jung Eun-kyeong, KDCA’s commissioner, said the country could
see daily infections exceed 10,000 or 20,000 in the coming weeks if it fails to
meaningfully slow transmissions now. She said that would push the number of
serious cases to between 1,600 and 1,900, possibly beyond what hospitals could
handle without sacrificing their non-COVID-19 care.
“We are seeing an average of 4,700 new cases in the Seoul
metropolitan area, which is significantly higher than the maximum 3,600 level
the hospital system could manage,” Jung said during a briefing.
Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said the four-person
gatherings limit will only be applied to fully vaccinated adults. Those who
aren’t fully vaccinated will be required to eat alone at restaurants, Kwon
said. The rules won’t be applied to children 18 years or younger. Restaurants,
coffee shops, gyms and karaoke venues will be required to close at 9 p.m.,
while movie theaters, concert halls and private cram schools will have to close
at 10 p.m. -AP
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