COVID-19 policies to be in place even if alert level lowered
Visitors keep their distance from each other using a floor marked with white lines as a precaution against COVID-19 infections at the entrance to Seoul Children's Grand Park on Children's day, Tuesday. / Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
The government will maintain its policies related to the COVID-19 outbreak, including the mask distribution system, even after the alert level against the contagious disease is lowered, the health authorities said Tuesday.
The administration raised its virus alert level to the “highest” in its four-tier system, Feb. 23, in response to the confirmation of hundreds of new cases at the time.
The government is now considering lowering the alert level amid clear signs of a slowdown in the number of new infections.
“We are collecting opinions from experts regarding the adjustment of the alert level,” Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said during a media briefing. “Even after the alert level is lowered to the third highest, the government's policies, which have been drawn up in response to the virus outbreak, will not be abolished as they depend on various conditions and situations.”
The coronavirus-related polices include the mask distribution system that allows citizens to buy face masks on designated days of the week in accordance with the year of their birth. The system was introduced amid a mask supply crisis here.
Kim said whether to abolish the system will be decided after officials monitor the supply and demand situation comprehensively.
Kim noted that the government's emergency headquarters and quarantine headquarters under the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) will also be maintained even after the alert level is adjusted.
He added, however, that the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters led by the prime minister, which was set up when the government raised the alert level to the highest, could be disbanded following any alert adjustment.
“Even after the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters is disbanded, the prime minister will attend related meetings, if necessary,” Kim said.
The KCDC reported three more infections, Monday, bringing the nation's total to 10,804. The new cases were all from other countries.
Two more deaths were reported, raising the death toll to 254.
Although the nation's coronavirus infection rate has been plateauing, the health authorities are continuing to stress the need for people to keep wearing face masks, being aware that warmer weather might make people hesitate to do so.
The warning comes as COVID-19 patients whose route of infection has yet to be identified continue to be reported.
The KCDC said infection route of eight patients out of 127 reported over the past two weeks has yet to be confirmed. Of the eight, four were residents of Daegu, the nation's worst hit region.
The government dispatched the health authorities to Daegu, Tuesday, to carry out additional epidemiological investigations.
Meanwhile, the government will remove seven more hospitals from the list of medical institutions specially designated to treat COVID-19 patients, Wednesday.
The administration, which had designated 67 hospitals with 7,500 beds to treat the virus patients, have so far removed 17 hospitals from the list in response to the falling number of confirmed cases.