<Anchor> With the
emergence of the Omicron mutation, the government is announcing the comprehensive quarantine measures today (29th) amid growing tensions over quarantine. While measures such as expanding the application of the quarantine pass are being considered, some experts say that stronger measures such as strengthening social distancing are needed.
Reporter Park Soo-jin.
<Reporter>
Members of the quarantine and medical subcommittee of the Daily Recovery Support Committee held a closed meeting for over two hours yesterday and discussed measures to strengthen quarantine.
The target of application of the quarantine pass, expansion of facilities, and limitation of validity period are under review.
It is known that some members have ordered strong measures to temporarily restrict the number of meetings and business hours, saying that it is difficult to break the current spread just by expanding the quarantine pass.
The government believes that widening the quarantine pass or strengthening the distance can reduce the overall travel volume, but it is difficult to prevent the rapid increase in the number of severe cases and deaths, especially among the elderly.
Therefore, while actively encouraging the elderly to receive booster vaccinations, they are focusing more on measures to reduce the movement and contact of the elderly until the effect of booster vaccination appears.
Therefore, a plan to include facilities frequently used by the elderly in the target of the quarantine pass is also being considered.
[Jung Eun-kyung / Director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (last 25 days): It is judged that it is necessary to implement a policy of reducing human contact during the four weeks until the immunity (of the elderly) increases with the booster vaccination.]
When the quarantine pass is expanded, the self-employed and small business groups are demanding compensation for the decrease in sales, which is something the government is struggling with.
The government's measures to strengthen quarantine will be announced shortly after the quarantine inspection meeting chaired by President Moon Jae-in this afternoon.