<Anchor> The



number of additional COVID-19 cases was around 220,000.

That's about 50,000 fewer people than a week ago, and it's a third of what it was three weeks ago.

The government has begun reviewing whether it is possible to completely remove the distance from Monday next week, but it is still struggling with ways to reduce the quarantine period for confirmed patients.



Reporter Park Soo-jin.



<Reporter>



As of Thursday, the number of new confirmed cases has fallen below 300,000 for the first time in five weeks.



The number of severe cases and deaths, which is the government's main criterion for lifting the distance, is also gradually decreasing.



Although the decline is not as fast as expected, the quarantine authorities judge that there is no hindrance to lifting the distance.

[Son Young-rae/Chief of Social Strategy Team (Yesterday), Central Accident Remediation Headquarters (Yesterday): Considering the current quarantine situation, it is judged that it is time to take



measures to lift the distance.]



It's a cautious look.



Even if the number of private gatherings and business hours are limited, and the mandatory outdoor mask is removed, it is highly likely that high-risk facilities such as nursing homes will be separated and quarantine guidelines such as prohibition of visits will be maintained.



There is also talk of lowering the first-class infectious disease COVID-19 to second-grade and gradual easing of quarantine measures.



It is known that there are not many disagreements within the government about shortening the quarantine period for confirmed patients.



Although the quarantine authorities announced the standard for the risk of spreading the virus to at least one week, there are also opinions that easing the quarantine for all citizens, not just essential personnel such as medical staff, is burdensome.



[Kim Woo-joo/Professor of Infectious Diseases, Korea University Guro Hospital: Since there is a risk that the trend of decrease is reversed and the number of confirmed cases increases again, shortening it to 5 days prematurely may cause the number of confirmed cases to increase rather than decrease.



] The position is to determine whether and to what extent the quarantine period is shortened by analyzing whether the increased risk of further transmission can be tolerated.



In addition, in preparation for a possible re-infection this fall, a third vaccination is recommended for confirmed patients, and a plan to expand the fourth vaccination to the general elderly is also being considered.



(Video editing: Lee Seung-yeol, CG: Lim Chan-hyuk)



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