Omicron Variant Emergency... Korean Medical Association Urges Temporary Suspension of Quarantine Exemptions for Arrivals

Korean Medical Association Issues Proposal to Government

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] As cases of Omicron variant infections have been discovered worldwide, the Korean Medical Association has officially requested the government to temporarily suspend the quarantine exemption system for inbound travelers.

On the 1st, the KMA's COVID-19 Countermeasures Committee stated in a government proposal, "To prevent the domestic inflow and spread of the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron, the quarantine exemption for inbound travelers must be temporarily suspended," adding, "Measures must be taken to prevent the overseas inflow and infection of the variant virus and to prepare for a surge in confirmed cases."

Currently, Korean nationals who have completed COVID-19 vaccination and foreigners possessing self-quarantine exemption certificates are not required to quarantine upon entering the country from abroad. However, as concerns over the global spread of the Omicron variant have increased, the government has banned foreign nationals from eight countries, including South Africa where the Omicron variant was identified, from entering since the 27th of last month.

The KMA emphasized that with the expansion of home treatment for COVID-19 patients, "a clinic-level outpatient care system at the community level should be introduced when implementing home treatment," adding, "Checking only oxygen saturation and fever may fail to detect symptom worsening in high-risk groups such as the elderly or those with underlying conditions, which could lead to dangerous situations. An outpatient care system capable of continuous monitoring of symptom changes must be established."

The proposal also mentioned the need to establish a proactive treatment system for high-risk patients after COVID-19 diagnosis. The KMA stated, "Before implementing home treatment, antibody therapies should be proactively administered to high-risk patients, including the elderly, and when home treatment is difficult, antibody therapies should be provided at residential treatment centers to minimize severe deterioration of patients."

Furthermore, they urged, "Please expand and reorganize the transfer system so that patients whose symptoms worsen during home treatment can be immediately transported," and insisted, "A transfer system suitable for patient conditions such as critical, moderate, recovery phase, and early discharge from residential treatment centers should be established to be applicable in the field."

They also added, "Measures are needed to prevent infection among families and cohabitants of home treatment patients," and "Countermeasures should be established to address infections caused by shared air conditioning systems in apartment complexes and group facilities."

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