| A street in Myeongdong, a shopping district in Seoul, is almost empty, Sunday, amid the toughest Level 4 social distancing measures imposed in the greater Seoul area. Yonhap |
By Lee Hyo-jin
People here are losing trust in the government's COVID-19 responses, as its social distancing measures, despite repeated extensions, are failing to contain the virus spread, while prolonged restrictions on daily activities are deepening public fatigue.
The health authorities have extended distancing measures by two or three weeks 12 times this year alone, each time asking for public cooperation in overcoming a “critical moment” in the country's battle against the coronavirus.
Most recently, Level 4, the toughest distancing measures imposed in the Seoul metropolitan area, has been extended for another two weeks until Aug. 8, unlike President Moon Jae-in's earlier promise that the Level 4 measures will be “strong and short.”
The decision came as the strongest virus curbs, including gathering bans of over two people after 6 p.m., have failed to bring the current situation under control during its initial two weeks of implementation from July 12 to 25.
In addition, the rest of the country will be placed under Level 3 measures from Tuesday until Aug 8, as the virus is rapidly spreading to other parts during the summer vacation season. Eateries and cafes are allowed to receive sit-in customers until 10 p.m., while private gatherings of five or more people are banned.
The distancing measures, however, are not working effectively, as seen by the unrelenting cases of infections.
The daily caseload has remained above 1,000 since July 6, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention (KDCA), which reported 1,318 daily new infections for Sunday, bringing the aggregated total to 190,116.
| People wait to receive coronavirus vaccinations at a hospital in Gwangju, Monday, when Korea expanded its inoculation program to people aged between 55 and 59, or those born between 1962 and 1966. People of the age group outside the Seoul metropolitan area receive the vaccine from Moderna, while those in the metropolitan area get the Pfizer one. Yonhap |
“I've grown tired of the distancing measures which have been in place since last year,” said an office worker in Seoul surnamed Choi. “Instead of extending social distancing and repeating the same messages asking for cooperation, I hope the government will focus more on the vaccine rollout.”
A housewife surnamed Park, living in Yangcheon District in Seoul, said, “Distancing measures are becoming harder to follow. Not only have the dos and don'ts become complicated, but also some rules, such as banning fast-pace music in indoor gyms, seems utterly unreasonable.”
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum apologized for repeatedly extending the distancing measures by two weeks, but said such decisions were inevitable.
“I am sorry that it seems we are giving vain hope by repeatedly extending the restrictions by two weeks, but we must endure this difficult period together until we bring the situation under control,” Kim said during an interview with local radio, Monday.
He warned, “Daily caseloads are expected to reach between 2,000 and 3,000 in late August if we fail to curb the current virus spread.”
Meanwhile, the health authorities are on high alert as data show that the highly transmissible Delta variant is expected to become the dominant strain in Korea as early as this week.
Around 48 percent of total infections were found to be of the Delta variant in the third week of July, up from 34 percent the previous week, according to the KDCA. The figure was a mere 2.5 percent in the third week of June.
The ratio of infections taking place in non-metropolitan areas is also increasing, standing at 40.7 percent for Sunday, the highest since the fourth wave of the pandemic started in early July.