December 21 According to media reports from Yonhap and New1, on the afternoon of December 21, the acting mayor of Seoul, Xu Zhengxie, held a press conference in the Seoul City Hall.
At the press conference, Xu Zhengxie said, “Seoul is on the eve of the storm” and “If the current growth momentum cannot be curbed, Seoul may be closed down.”
It is reported that Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, South Korea, have decided to ban private gatherings of more than five people from 00:00 on the 23rd to January 3 next year.
At the same time, it is forbidden to hold small gatherings such as classmates, family gatherings, workplace dinners and seminars, such as housewarming banquets, first birthday banquets, and 70th birthday banquets and other personal friendships.
The meeting will also be banned. However, considering the specificity of such events at weddings and funerals, it was decided to maintain a social distancing standard of 2.5, and the number of participants was still limited to less than 50.
Recently, the number of confirmed COVID-19 patients in South Korea has soared in a row, and the use rate of beds in Seoul’s specialized hospital for infectious diseases has reached 85.4%.
Of the 91 special beds for severe patients, only 4 beds are available for hospitalization. In response, Seoul Acting Mayor Xu Zhengxie said that he would increase intensive care beds and significantly increase the number of tests. To this end, the city of Seoul plans to set up a “door-to-door clinic” to conduct comprehensive and rapid coronavirus testing.
Acting Mayor Xu also said at an emergency press conference on the afternoon of December 21: “In the last month, we have raised the level of social distancing three times, which has strengthened the intensity of epidemic prevention, which is the last chance to curb the spread of COVID-19.”
He also warned: “If the current explosive growth momentum cannot be curbed, the scene of empty streets and urban blockades like New York and London will also appear in Seoul.”
