If Asymptomatic for 10 Days, Discharge Allowed... Flood of Criticism Over Loose 'Quarantine Release' Criteria

Asymptomatic Individuals Released from Quarantine After 10 Days Without Symptoms
"Asymptomatic Individuals Are Not Completely Non-Contagious" Citizens Express Anxiety
Experts Advise "Adherence to Personal Hygiene Guidelines Is Necessary"

On the morning of the 25th, Army soldiers are conducting quarantine and disinfection on the platform of Daejeon Station. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Starting from the 25th, as the criteria for releasing confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) from isolation have been relaxed to secure isolation beds, concerns are continuing to be raised. This is because such measures are considered premature judgments while COVID-19 has not yet ended.

Experts urge asymptomatic individuals to adhere to personal quarantine rules, such as refraining from going out, even after being released from isolation.

On the 24th, Kim Kang-rip, the first chief coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, stated, "From now on, if an asymptomatic person tests positive and no clinical symptoms appear during the 10-day period after diagnosis, the criteria have been changed to allow release from isolation."

He added, "Although there is no infectivity, the test may still show positive results, so if the criteria are applied strictly, unnecessary additional hospitalization may continue, occupying hospital beds."

In summary, after a certain period following COVID-19 infection, although positive test results may appear, infectivity disappears, so there is no need to continue isolation.

Originally, asymptomatic individuals had to test negative twice consecutively at 24-hour intervals after diagnosis to be discharged. However, under the relaxed isolation release measures, from the 25th, COVID-19 confirmed patients will be released from isolation and discharged if they show no symptoms for ten days despite testing positive.

Citizens are expressing concerns that this measure, intended to secure hospital beds, may instead lead to the spread of COVID-19.

An office worker, A (28), said, "Asymptomatic individuals are not completely non-infectious. Releasing them from isolation after just 10 days might increase infectivity. Even if hospital beds are scarce, this was a matter that should have been decided more cautiously."

Netizens also responded critically. They expressed frustration with comments such as, "What about all the efforts made by medical staff so far? Cases of reinfection are continuing. Are asymptomatic individuals being underestimated?", "If you think about the medical staff, quarantine measures should be strengthened," and "Does this mean everyone should just be careful on their own?"

On the morning of the 23rd, employees of Buk-gu Office and members of the autonomous quarantine team disinfected and sanitized a PC room in Buk-gu, Gwangju. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Especially in South Korea, the situation is more concerning because the scale of asymptomatic cases is unknown. Regarding this, Oh Myung-don, a member of the Central Clinical Committee on Emerging Infectious Diseases, mentioned at a press conference at the National Medical Center on the 21st that, citing overseas cases such as Spain, "the number of asymptomatic individuals is estimated to be ten times the number of confirmed cases."

For example, the Spanish government conducted random testing on 60,000 citizens on April 27 and found antibodies in 2.25 million people (5%) out of a population of 45 million. This is ten times the 230,000 confirmed cases identified by the Spanish government.

Based on this, Oh argued, "COVID-19 cannot be eradicated," citing three reasons why eradication is impossible: ▲ no population immunity ▲ a significant number of asymptomatic infections ▲ easy transmission in daily life.

Oh stated, "Since asymptomatic individuals are more than ten times as many and can spread the virus in daily life, so-called 'silent infections' and 'nth generation infections' naturally occur. If we respond based on early diagnosis, contact tracing, and isolation, we cannot completely stop the spread, and there is little room to improve the 'leaky quarantine' system."

On the 15th, citizens wearing masks were moving at a bus stop in Jung-gu, Seoul. The photo is unrelated to the specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Experts suggest that even after asymptomatic individuals are released from isolation, they must comply with personal quarantine rules. Professor Eom Jung-sik, an infectious disease specialist at Gachon University Gil Medical Center, explained, "If asymptomatic individuals undergo PCR testing, they may test positive, but virus culture tests come out negative. In other words, fragments of dead virus are detected. There is no basis to consider this as live virus."

He continued, "However, asymptomatic individuals should not live carelessly after 10 days. It is important to wear masks thoroughly and refrain from going out as much as possible."

He also said, "If asymptomatic individuals roam the streets, there is a chance of 'silent infection.' Therefore, social distancing and mask-wearing must be strictly observed."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.