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| President Moon Jae-in talks during a cabinet meeting in Seoul, Tuesday./ Yonhap |
By Kim Se-jeong
The government decided Tuesday to designate Aug. 17 a one-off holiday in an attempt to encourage citizens to travel and spend more, while granting healthcare workers time to rest amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision was made during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning, to make a three-day weekend starting from Aug. 15, Liberation Day, which falls on a Saturday this year.
Tuesday's decision followed up Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun's proposal made on Sunday.
"I hope this could bring comfort to citizens who are tired of the lingering pandemic," President Moon Jae-in said during the meeting.
The government is also hoping to see a boost in consumer spending which nosedived since the outbreak started. On Monday, Hyundai Research Institute projected the extra holiday will increase production by 4.2 trillion won and create 36,000 jobs.
Some welcomed the move but others express concern that it may push up virus cases as seen in early May.
On Monday, Korea reported 45 new cases, raising the total number of cases to 13,816. No additional deaths were reported.
Among the 45 new cases, 25 of the infected had recently traveled outside Korea. Eighteen patients were identified through immigration-related testing. The government said some tested positive even though they submitted negative test results before departing for Korea. Korea is now asking people arriving from high-risk COVID-19 countries to take the test 48 hours prior to departure and submit the results at the airport.
Among 20 domestic cases, three were linked to an elderly care center located in Gangseo-gu, southwestern Seoul. The first case from the facility was reported on Sunday and so far 12 confirmed cases have been reported.
The facility had 21 employees and 45 patients when the outbreak was reported. The quarantine authorities also found an additional 118 who had been in contact with them and conducted virus tests. All tested negative.
On Tuesday, the government said 1,039 people who had recovered from the virus volunteered to donate their blood for the plasma therapy development.
"We thank them for their support," said Kwon Joon-wook, a senior official responsible for the government's response to the virus. "A process to make plasma therapy is already underway and we are expecting to start clinical trials sometime in August."
Pharmaceutical companies and governments around the world are in a race to develop treatments and vaccines.
In Korea, remdesivir, developed by U.S. company Gilead Science, has been authorized for use. Kwon said 76 patients are currently undergoing the remdesivir treatment.
The government said it is providing local companies support to develop a vaccine as well as making efforts to import potential vaccines.
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