GOVT’S STRATEGIES TO RETURN TO NORMAL LIFE KCTU STAGE NATIONWIDE RALLIES

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As of the midnight on Thursday, South Korea added 1,441 new COVID-19 cases. It is down more than 100 from the day before. The nation’s daily tally has been on a downward track for three consecutive weeks. Now nearly 70 percent of South Koreans have been fully vaccinated, bringing the nation a step closer to a return to a pre-pandemic condition. Next week, the government will announce strategies to gradually go back to pre-pandemic

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The government reiterated its plan to introduce phased measures to return to a pre-pandemic condition starting from November 1.

[Soundbite] Kwon Deok-cheol(Minister of Health and Welfare) : "(Are you reviewing the possibility of returning to a pre-pandemic condition in phases from November 1?) Yes, I am."

It expects the vaccination rate to reach 70 percent as early as this weekend, a level the nation must attain in order to return to pre-pandemic normalcy.

[Soundbite] Jeong Eun-kyeong(KDCA Director) : "We expect the vaccination rate to reach 70 percent this weekend or early next week. It is between October 23 and 25."

Thanks to the extensive vaccination campaign, the nation’s cumulative COVID-19 fatality rate has dropped to 0.78 percent over three months. Health officials predict the daily tally will hover around 1,400 late this month even if the fourth wave of infections worsens. A key issue is that roughly 1.48 million high-risk people aged 50 or older remain unvaccinated. Authorities expressed concerns that infections could spread among this group. Another risk factor is that just 49 percent of foreigners living in Korea have been vaccinated. Foreign COVID-19 patients account for 20 percent of the total cases.

[Soundbite] Jeon Hae-cheol(Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures HQs) : "We will continue to carry out intensive anti-virus inspections and preemptive COVID-19 tests on various businesses including ones hiring foreign workers. We will also encourage foreign students and construction workers to get vaccinated."

The government announced a plan to set up a panel that is tasked with boosting the stability of coronavirus vaccines and expanding the scope of vaccine-related adverse reactions. It also stressed more budgets are needed to secure at least 400,000 doses of the experimental pill for treating COVID-19. A government committee is now discussing various detailed measures to help the nation shift to a pre-pandemic condition. It is working to devise phased approaches, since the U.K. and Singapore each report 50,000 and 4,000 new cases daily after introducing “living with corona” strategies. The committee plans to announce finalized decisions late next week.