South Korea relaxes some social distancing rules as new coronavirus cases fall
19 April, 2020
South Korea extended its social distancing policy for another 15 days on Sunday (Apr 19) but offered some relief for churches and sporting fixtures, since it reported just eight new coronavirus infections, the cheapest in two months.
The slightly relaxed guidelines mean high-risk facilities like churches will no longer need to close, while sports matches such as for example soccer can resume without an audience.
"It is safest to keep the intensive social distancing, but it isn't easy realistically. We need to find a middle ground," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun told a televised meeting of government officials.
"If we can maintain a well balanced management at the existing level, we will shift to 'routine social distancing' from May 6," Chung said.
Health authorities have said this might allow a reopening of the economy, while maintaining guidelines on disinfection and protecting against the spread of the virus in people's daily lives.
It was the very first time since Feb 18 that South Korea reported an individual digit daily rise in new infections. The figure brings its total cases to 10,661.
Of the brand new cases, five were imported from overseas, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said. The death toll rose to 234.
South Korea has largely were able to bring the outbreak in order and has recently been reporting daily new cases hovering around 20.
Health authorities called the trend very good news, but issued an email of caution about overly optimistic predictions.
"We are continually on the aware of ensure we haven't missed any new infections, or if the epidemic could be spread by asymptomatic or mildly infected patients," KCDC chief Jeong Eun-kyeong told a briefing.
President Moon Jae-in on Sunday said South Korea's progress gave hope that the COVID-19 is "surmountable" in other areas of the world. Earlier this year, South Korea had Asia's major number of infections outside China. It has since been overtaken by other countries.
"The government will plan new daily lives and the brand new world order 'post-COVID' with the unified power of the citizens," Moon said.
US President Trump spoke to Moon on Saturday and expressed appreciation for South Korea's assist in procuring COVID-19 tests for america.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
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