Kim Sung-ho from the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters speaks during a briefing at Government Complex Sejong, Friday. Yonhap

By Lee Yeon-woo

The upcoming Chuseok holiday is feared to accelerate the transmission of COVID-19, according to the government, as it will be the first time in three years that the holiday will be celebrated without the social distancing measures, which limited private gatherings sizes, food consumption in public spaces and operating hours for multi-use facilities.

Chuseok, one of the nation's biggest traditional holidays, is when people head to their hometowns to be with their family members and pay respects at their ancestors' graves. This year the Chuseok long weekend runs for four days from Sept. 9 to 12.

"Even though the current situation is stable, in-person contact and travel volume are expected to increase during the Chuseok holiday and there is a high possibility of a resurgence of the virus after the holiday," said Kim Sung-ho, an official from the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSC) during a briefing, Friday.

The government has decided not to implement any measures on limiting the size of private gatherings or the operating hours of multi-use facilities. In addition, eating in public spaces and on buses and trains will be allowed.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the daily number of new infections has been decreasing for the last two weeks, after reaching a peak of 180,803 on Aug. 17. The country reported 89,586 new infections on Friday, which was the lowest number for a Friday in five weeks since recording 85,277 infections on July 29. The daily number of new infections stayed below 90,000 for the second consecutive day.

However, despite the overall recent downward trend, the CDSC said close observation is needed during the holiday since the Omicron BA.5 subvariant, which dominated 95.5 percent of all cases here in the fourth week of August, is the most transmissible strain of the coronavirus to date and vaccine immunity has waned in Korea.

In an effort to control the spread of the virus, the government plans to run nationwide temporary screening stations and clinics for people exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms during the holiday. It will also maintain an emergency contact network and emergency transportation systems to provide medical treatment for emergency patients.

"Please minimize your movements and follow the current measures ― such as wearing face masks ― so that we can all enjoy a safe Chuseok," Kim said.

Taking a rapid antigen test before visiting family members who live in other regions will help too, according to experts.

"As the elderly living in less-populated rural areas didn't suffer much from COVID-19, younger people coming in from cities are highly likely to spread the virus on this occasion," Paik Soon-young, a professor of medicine at the Catholic University of Korea, told The Korea Times.

However, experts viewed that the rise of infections after the holiday will probably be temporary and could be managed sufficiently by the government.

"We are in a different situation this year. With almost half of Koreans already having been infected, even considering reinfection cases, overall immunity is higher than before. Of course, we should prepare for the worst-case scenario, but I don't think we have to be extremely worried about it," Paik said.