SEOUL (KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The South Korean government once again defied its own Covid-19 blueprint and decided against moving up to a higher level of social distancing despite recent metrics that support more intensive intervention.

In announcing the decision to remain in third tier of the 5-tier social distancing system, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said in Sunday's (Nov 29) emergency press conference that "excessive controls will lead to other sorts of losses that will ultimately be suffered by the people."