GOV'T EXPRESSES CONCERN ABOUT ANOTHER WAVE

[Anchor Lead]

The government issued a statement yesterday, expressing the concern for a possible fourth COVID-19 surge as authorities fail to contain the spread. Government officials warned that the social distancing level may have to be raised if the virus keeps spreading and urged the public to follow disease control guidelines more strictly.

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[Soundbite] Kwon Deok-cheol(Minister of Health and Welfare) : "The current situation is very similar to that of before a big surge. We are at the crossroads of a possible fourth surge."

The nation's daily COVID-19 tally stood at 477 for the week of March 28th through April 3rd. That's about 55 more cases than the previous week. The number of cases also keeps rising in the high-risk group of people 60 or older. Over 28% of the cases are still being contact-traced, causing concerns over silent transmissions. The reproduction number, which indicates the number of people one person infects, also surpassed one. The highly contagious variants of COVID-19 also spread rapidly, resulting in 330 cases in Korea.

[Soundbite] Kwon Deok-cheol(Minister of Health and Welfare) : "If another surge occurs, the virus could infect more than 1,000 people a day."

The government emphasized the importance of following basic disease control rules, cancelling non-essential gatherings, and getting vaccinated. Authorities also said social distancing levels may be raised if the spread is not slowed down.

[Soundbite] Sohn Young-rae(Central Disaster Management HQs) : "In mid-week, we will decide and announce adjustments to the social distancing guidelines for the coming week and which disease control measures to toughen."

The government remains cautious about restructuring the guidelines as the latest surge hasn’t been contained yet. However, health officials are looking to test a new set of rules in less affected areas.