Acting PM Urges Public to Trust Govt. on Virus Response

 Acting Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki has urged the public to have faith in government’s COVID-19 response amid a steadfast growth of new virus patients and concerns over South Korea’s vaccine procurement capacity.

The Prime Minister made the appeal on Wednesday.

“We ask that each individual remain alert and attentive in the current situation but also have faith in our test and medical capabilities, and trust our vaccine administration plan,’’ Hong said during a daily interagency meeting on the coronavirus response.

Hong’s comments came as the government was currently in the hot seat for what critics said was a slow rollout of the national vaccination campaign and delayed vaccine procurements due to the intensifying global competition to secure vaccines.

The number of new daily patients in the country reached 731, further elevating concerns of a new virus wave.

The average daily number of cases stayed above 600 in the past week.

Hong explained that the overall virus response situation in terms of resources such as the number of intensive-care sickbeds was comparatively better compared with that of late December.

He said that the number of daily deaths from the virus remained in the single digit thanks to the use of homegrown COVID-19 treatment products.

The government will also commit to its plan of completing vaccinations of three million people by the end of the month and 1.2 million by the first half of the year, Hong added.

To this end, authorities will increase the number of vaccination centres throughout the nation from 175 to 204 by Thursday and up to 264 by the end of the month, he said.

During a parliamentary interpellation session later in the day, Hong stated that the government plans to stick to its current social distancing scheme for the time being, noting that “new case numbers are moving along the 700 range.’’

Hong, however, also said he sees the recent spike in people’s movement as a signal that calls for an increase in alertness of the government’s antivirus measures.

The greater Seoul area, home to half of the nation’s 52 million population, is under the Level two distancing scheme, the third highest in the five-phase system.

The rest of the country is under Level 1.5, except for some municipalities that have adopted Level 2 measures.

Kim Boo-kyum, the new prime minister nominee, meanwhile, said he will announce the government’s position regarding the current state of vaccine procurement operations during his parliamentary confirmation hearing after accurately examining the situation.

“I am speaking with related agencies on the past efforts (regarding the government’s vaccine programme) and the current situation,’’ Kim told reporters as he arrived at his temporary office in central Seoul.

The former four-term lawmaker and interior minister was nominated on April 16, by President Moon Jae-in as South Korea’s new prime minister to replace Chung Sye-kyun in a Cabinet reshuffle.