Quarantine authorities said Saturday that even though daily infections of COVID-19 remain below 50 for a continued period, this does not mean social distancing can be eased right away.

Yoon Tae-ho, a senior Health Ministry official in charge of containment efforts, made this point clear during a briefing.

He said a considerable number of new infections continue in blind spots of the quarantine network while the risk of cluster outbreaks also still exists. 

According to Yoon, these situations must be considered comprehensively and he added that moves to ease back on social distancing, such as physical school attendance, are still premature.

On the issue of when to transition into what is called a "daily life quarantine system," which will allow social activities in tandem with quarantine measures, authorities will reach a conclusion by next weekend and make an announcement.