President Moon Jae-in said Monday that the current COVID-19 situation is very precarious and could lead to another explosive surge if vigilance is not maintained.

Presiding over a special quarantine inspection meeting, Moon said that if cases continue to increase, the social distancing level will inevitably have to be raised, even at the risk of further burdening the economy and the people’s livelihoods.

The president said it's concerning that even with vaccines, infections are spreading around the world. However, he praised Korea’s quarantine efforts, pointing to a drop in cases among high-risk groups including the elderly and nursing home patients.

Moon said the foremost task now in order to stabilize the situation is to uncover hidden infections, calling for aggressive preemptive testing. He also reiterated zero tolerance for quarantine violators.

As for vaccines, the president said 20 million doses will be provided through the third quarter and urged efforts to speed up the timeframe to reach herd immunity.