Lax social distancing measures may worsen the COVID-19 situation in May, which is the “month of the family” in Korea, according to medical experts, who warned that the country may see spikes in infections due to increased gatherings.
The government announced Friday it will extend the current social distancing scheme ― Level 2 in the greater Seoul area and Level 1.5 in other regions ― for another three weeks until May 23. The current guidelines were initially scheduled to end at midnight on May 2.
Nationwide bans on gatherings of five or more people and limited opening hours of cafes and restaurants until 10 p.m., as well as a ban on nighttime entertainment facilities in Seoul and its surrounding areas, will also remain in place.
Although the average daily number of local infections during the past week has exceeded the benchmark for Level 2.5 social distancing set by the government, health authorities decided against raising the level citing a decrease in critically ill patients. They also assessed that there are enough hospital beds available currently to respond to an average of 1,000 new patients per day.
The health minister noted that if the daily tally remains below 1,000 until the end of June, it will introduce a revised social distancing scheme from July. The new four-tier system is aimed at tailored restrictions on the activities of individuals rather than enforcing unilateral bans on certain businesses.
“The number of daily cases is an important criterion in implementing new social distancing schemes, but we take into consideration other indices as well to conduct comprehensive reviews on the current situation,” said Yoon Tae-ho, a senior official at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, during a briefing on Friday.
Yoon also said that harsher distancing measures will take a toll on small business owners and the self-employed.
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| People walk at Seoul Children’s Grand Park in Gwangjin District, Friday. Yonhap |
However, medical experts expressed concerns that extension of current levels may not be effective in preventing virus surges as more gatherings are expected in the “family month” and at a period when outdoor activities are constantly increasing in the warm weather.
There are four special days in May; Children’s Day on May 5, and Parents Day on May 8 and Teacher’s Day on May 15, and Buddha’s Birthday which falls on May 19 this year.
“The daily tally has been well over the benchmark for Level 2.5 for nearly a month, so technically, the distancing level should have been raised,” said Kim Woo-Joo, an infectious disease professor at Korea University Guro Hospital, adding that the government’s failure to follow the rules set by itself is creating public confusion.
“Considering public fatigue amid the prolonged distancing rules, harsher restrictions, for now, may minimize economic losses for small business owners in the long term,” Kim said.
Chon Eun-mi, a respiratory disease specialist at Ewha Woman’s University Medical Center said, “It will be difficult for the current distancing level to bring down the daily new cases. More people will enjoy outdoor activities including possible gatherings in May. We need more active ways to find and isolate asymptomatic patients.”
Meanwhile, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the country reported 661 new virus cases for Thursday, raising the total caseload to 122,007. Among the new cases were 642 local infections and 19 cases from overseas.
