Health authorities will announce on Tuesday criteria that will need to be met for the country to move to the next phase of its three-stage transition to living with COVID-19.

The government is also expected to unveil the criteria that will be implemented for taking emergency quarantine measures. 

Lee Sang-won, a senior official at the Central Disease Control Headquarters had said last week that the government is holding extensive discussions and closely observing the unfolding COVID-19 situation. 

Lee said intensive care unit(ICU) capacity is the most important factor, adding that the government will decide on standards for moving into the next phase through discussions with experts and based on a comprehensive evaluation. 

In proposing the gradual transition, the government had allocated six weeks for each phase, including four weeks for implementation and two weeks for evaluation. 

In deciding whether to enter the next phase, the government plans to take into account the nation’s vaccination rate, ICU capacity, number of serious cases and deaths as well as the virus reproduction rate.