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| People take COVID-19 test at a public health center in Nowon District, Seoul, Monday. / Yonhap |
By Lee Hyo-jin
Health experts are criticizing the government for applying "lax" social distancing measures following its decision to maintain the current Level 2 restrictions in Seoul and its surrounding areas despite the third wave of COVID-19 that is sweeping the country.
While admitting that the country is facing "the most serious situation since the first wave in March," the health authorities announced Sunday that they would not raise the level in the capital area, but would impose stricter quarantine measures on specific facilities only. They raised the levels of other regions in the country to 1.5 of the five-tier social distancing scheme.
Jacob Lee, a professor at Hallym University's Gangnam Sacred Heart Hospital, denounced the authorities' decision, saying that they were failing to provide the public with accurate information on the current situation, making people think that the situation is less serious than the first wave in March.
"The Central Disaster Management Headquarters should be dissolved. It's time for us consider new governance (on COVID-19). I doubt whether the headquarters is doing its role in convincing other governmental bodies to enhance social distancing measures," he wrote on Facebook, Sunday. The post has since been deleted.
Lee, a member of an external expert committee at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), has been insisting that social distancing measures must be tightened to curb sporadic infection clusters across the country and prevent a more serious situation developing in the upcoming winter.
"The government called its measures Level 2+α, but skeptical people call it Level 2.25. It must give out simple and clear messages to people in disaster situations, to encourage their cooperation in curbing the virus spread. It is highly concerning that the administration is not delivering exact information," he said during an interview with local media group JTBC.
"It should make more efforts to deliver accurate information on the current crisis and provide ways on how it will deal with the situation, rather than taking an ambiguous and indecisive stance on raising distancing levels."
He added that the recent figures of daily new infections already qualify for Level 2.5. The average number of local daily new cases last week was 438.7. Under the current five-tier system, Level 2.5 should be imposed when 400 to 500 new infections daily are confirmed nationwide.
The KDCA reported 438 new COVID-19 infections for Sunday, including 414 local cases. The number has stayed under 500 for the last two days, due mainly to the fewer number of tests conducted over weekends.
"The government should set an example by following the rules set by itself to gain public support and participation," said Kim Woo-joo, a doctor at the infectious disease department of Korea University Guro Hospital. "The current measures are way too weak to curb the continuous sporadic infections."
However, the government decided against higher-level distancing measures, citing that excessive regulation could lead to more damage to the people.
"By taking a more tailored approach such as preemptive measures to stop the spread among young people and high-risk facilities, we will be able to minimize the spread of the virus, as well as the losses from excessive regulations," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said during a press briefing at the Government Complex Seoul, Sunday.
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