Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum has warned against complacency after the nation’s daily COVID-19 cases surged back to over two-thousand-600.
Kim via social media said on Wednesday that if the “arduously-built towers” of quarantine efforts collapse so easily, the long-hoped return to normalcy will become a distant dream again.
He said he was anxious upon hearing news the previous day of young people filling the streets of downtown Seoul and of a baseball stadium filled with spectators.
Although he expected to see some growth in cases with the launch of “living with COVID-19,” the prime minister said the sudden hike over three days is keeping him up at night.
Kim said he understands public fatigue from drawn-out distancing rules, but stressed that the recovery of daily life isn’t possible over a short period of time and called for continued caution while moving forward.
On a radio program on Wednesday, he warned that the government will have to suspend the new system if more than 75 percent of COVID-19 hospital beds nationwide are filled.