Health Minister Park Neung-hoo has urged each and every person to be a main player in COVID-19 quarantine efforts by staying home and minimizing contact with others this week. 

The minister made the remark on Monday during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.  

He called on the public to come together in tackling the pandemic as he stressed that this week will serve as a watershed in quarantine efforts. 

Park cited that unknown transmission sources accounted for more than 20 percent of new COVID-19 cases reported in the past two weeks. He said, in particular, infections are on the rise in medical facilities and nursing homes.  

The minister said health authorities are doing their best to sever the links between infections but are facing difficulty as sporadic clusters are emerging across the nation.  

Saying people are the vaccine that will fight the virus, Park asked the public to remember that actively following quarantine regulations regardless of the inconvenience to everyday life is the way to protect everybody.