By Park Hye Ri and Kim Hayeon  

President Moon Jae-in on April 5 said the international community expects Korea to be a leading country in lowering COVID-19 to the level of an endemic disease and is watching the nation's strategies for returning to normal life.

Chairing his 15th Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Secretariat building of Yeomingwan at Cheong Wa Dae, he said that as the omicron variant has passed its peak and shown a downward trend for three weeks, expectations of returning to normal life are getting bigger. Korea has protected the lives and safety of its people from infectious disease better than any other country, he added.  

Even with the recent massive spread of omicron, he said, the government has maintained a stable medical system and has been able to manage the number of severely ill and deaths at considerably lower levels than other countries. 

The chief executive also thanked above all those who actively participated and cooperated in quarantine and vaccination, adding that effective support from Korea's advanced quarantine and excellent health and medical capacities led to the result.

He again stressed his intent to return life to what it was before the pandemic, adding that the government will concentrate on managing high-risk factors and reorganizing quarantine and medical systems into a routine response system to prepare for recovery to normal in an orderly manner. As most quarantine measures have been lifted, he said, the government urges the people to join forces to speed up full recovery of daily life while raising responsibility for autonomous quarantine.

hrhr@korea.kr