"The Core of With Corona is Securing Home Treatment and ICU Beds" ... Policy Announcement in Mid-Month

The Spread in the Capital Region Does Not Decrease
But the Fatality Rate Is Not High at 0.78%
Proceeding Even If 10,000 Cases Occur in One Day

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jung] "The core of With Corona is ‘home treatment.’ We are refining the system based on cases in Seoul and Gyeonggi."

Kim Sung-joo, a member of the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee and head of the Democratic Party’s COVID-19 Crisis Response Headquarters, said in an interview with Asia Economy on the 7th, "Although the number of confirmed cases may temporarily increase, if severe cases and deaths do not rise significantly, With Corona will soon be introduced," adding, "Related policies will be announced in mid-month, and we will gradually and step-by-step move toward restoring daily life."

Members of the Democratic Party’s Health and Welfare Committee held a party-government meeting the day before the national audit to hear plans for implementing With Corona from the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and to discuss related matters. In this closed meeting, government progress for the With Corona introduction scheduled for the end of this month, securing hospital beds and home treatment plans, and the introduction of vaccine passes were discussed.

Kim said, "On the 7th, the number of new confirmed cases was 2,427, with the spread in the metropolitan area continuing and the scale of the outbreak not decreasing, but the fatality rate is not high at 0.78%," explaining, "The medical response system will focus on critical patients, establishing a medical system centered on treating severe patients to minimize deaths, and plans to gradually expand home treatment."

Not fixated on the number of confirmed cases... Implementation in early next month

On the 6th, the streets of Myeongdong, Seoul, appeared to have lost their vitality due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum stated at the Cabinet meeting that day regarding the compensation system for small business owners affected by COVID-19 quarantine measures, "We will ensure that small business owners can receive compensation by the end of this month at the latest." However, he added, "The compensation targets are losses directly caused by quarantine measures such as gathering bans and business hour restrictions enacted after the law was promulgated on July 7," and "Unfortunately, losses before that date and indirect losses are not covered, so it may fall short of the expectations of small business owners." Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

According to short-term predictions by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, if the fourth wave of COVID-19 worsens beyond the current level, daily new confirmed cases are expected to exceed 5,000 by the end of this month. This result was derived using a mathematical model applied to patient incidence rate, transmission rate, fatality rate, and vaccination rate as of the 30th of last month. If the outbreak situation continues at the average level of the fourth wave, daily confirmed cases are predicted to increase to 3,500?4,300 by the end of this month and 3,300?4,900 by the end of next month. Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol also stated at the national audit, "We are preparing critical care beds and home treatment plans, anticipating that daily new confirmed cases could reach around 10,000."

Despite these projections, the government plans to initiate With Corona early next month. Kim emphasized, "The government’s intention is not to change policy decisions based on the number of confirmed cases," adding, "Considering the prolonged high-intensity quarantine policies, and the suffering of small business owners and self-employed individuals, we have no choice but to move toward With Corona."

The government is preparing to introduce vaccine passes as part of vaccination incentives. In this process, the government is coordinating details to prevent discrimination against unvaccinated individuals. Kim said, "For example, in indoor sports facilities, we intend to provide equal opportunities to three groups: those who have completed vaccination, unvaccinated individuals who present a negative PCR test certificate, and those who have recovered from COVID-19," adding, "We will ensure fairness between vaccinated and unvaccinated people and avoid controversies over discrimination."

However, no conclusion has yet been reached regarding extending business hours for multi-use facilities such as restaurants and cafes. Kim said, "There are many opinions that business hour restrictions should be lifted considering the hardships of self-employed people, but no decision has been made on this yet," adding, "A joint task force of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency meets weekly, and opinions will be gathered through the ‘COVID-19 Daily Recovery Committee (tentative name)’ led by the Prime Minister," and further stated, "We plan to hold expert forums in the future to finalize With Corona policies."

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