'K-Quarantine' Struggling with Triple Hardships... Over 17,000 Home Treatment Patients

Shortage of Medical Staff, Low Youth Vaccination Rate, Omicron
860 Patients Waiting for Beds in Seoul Metropolitan Area
May Lead to Increased Elderly Deaths
Child and Adolescent Vaccination Rate Drops to 32%
Strengthening Social Distancing Measures Likely Unavoidable

On the 8th, when the number of new COVID-19 cases exceeded 7,000, the temporary screening clinic set up in the plaza of Cheongnyangni Station in Seoul's Dongdaemun-gu was crowded with citizens seeking testing. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporters Seo So-jeong and Lee Gwan-ju] The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients has reached a record high of 840, and cases of patients dying while waiting for hospital beds due to shortages are increasing, causing a backlash against the 'gradual return to normal life (With Corona)' policy. Experts warn that if daily new cases reach around 10,000 by the end of this year, deaths while waiting for hospital beds could surge dramatically.

◆ Nearly 20,000 Under Home Treatment = According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on the 8th, as of midnight that day, the number of people under home treatment reached 17,362 and continues to rise daily. With the spread centered in the metropolitan area, home treatment patients are concentrated in Seoul with 8,791, Gyeonggi with 5,729, and Incheon with 1,061. The number of confirmed cases waiting for hospital beds for extended periods is also increasing.

The total number of people in the metropolitan area waiting for hospital beds for more than one day is 860, of whom 358 have been waiting for more than four days. Notably, among those waiting for beds, 378 are elderly aged 70 or older, and many have underlying conditions such as hypertension and diabetes, creating a precarious situation that could lead to critical illness or death. There have been 29 deaths while waiting for hospital beds over the past five weeks (October 31 to December 4), heightening concerns about the medical response system.

Park Myung-ha, president of the Seoul Medical Association, said, "Hospital-level medical institutions providing home treatment under government policy are facing difficulties in maintaining continuity of patient care due to a surge in patients and a shortage of medical staff," and emphasized, "Home treatment, which has mainly been hospital-level, should be expanded to clinic-level using telemedicine." Park also proposed, "Basic measures like checking oxygen saturation and temperature cannot adequately assess the health status of elderly patients with underlying conditions. Local primary care physicians who have cared for patients before infection should participate and conduct telemedicine."

On the 8th, when the number of new COVID-19 cases exceeded 7,000, the temporary screening clinic set up in Cheongnyangni Station Plaza, Seoul, was crowded with citizens seeking testing. / Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

◆ Pediatric and Adolescent Vaccination Completion Rate Only 32.5% = There are calls to accelerate booster shots for the general adult population and vaccinations for children and adolescents. Lee Yeon-kyung, head of the Adverse Reaction Management Team at the Vaccination Response Promotion Team, explained, "The suspected adverse reaction reports for Pfizer vaccine recipients aged 12-17 are 262.3 cases per 100,000 vaccinations, which is lower than the overall rate of 367.1 cases across all ages."

According to the team, among suspected adverse reaction reports for ages 12-17, 97.9% are general adverse reactions and 2.1% are serious adverse reactions, which is lower than the overall rates (general adverse reactions 96.3%, serious adverse reactions 3.7%). However, vaccination among children and adolescents in Korea remains slow. Of the 2,768,836 children and adolescents aged 12-17, 592,702 aged 16-17 and 307,847 aged 12-15 have completed their second dose, totaling 905,949, resulting in a vaccination completion rate of only 32.5%.

Starting February next year, a vaccination certificate and negative test confirmation system (quarantine pass) will be applied to facilities mainly used by adolescents, sparking strong opposition from parents. The Rule of Law Restoration Action Coalition, Seoul Education Saving Parents Coalition, and Seoul Restoration Citizens Coalition filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission, arguing, "The adolescent quarantine pass for ages 12-18 starting February 1 infringes on the right to learn, the freedom to choose vaccination, and causes discrimination based on vaccination status." They claim, "The adolescent quarantine pass policy constitutes a human rights violation as it discriminates by favoring, excluding, or treating certain individuals unfavorably in relation to the use of educational facilities, as defined in Article 2, Paragraph 3 of the National Human Rights Commission Act."

In response, Professor Jung Jae-hoon of Gachon University College of Medicine said, "Although the government is expanding hospital beds, the shortage of medical staff means it is necessary to reduce the scale of the outbreak and quickly proceed with booster vaccinations," adding, "As the outbreak worsens and spreads among school-age groups, the benefits of vaccination for students are becoming clear from a personal health perspective."

On the 8th, when the number of new COVID-19 cases exceeded 7,000, medical staff were busy working at the temporary screening clinic set up in the plaza of Cheongnyangni Station in Seoul's Dongdaemun District. Photo by Mo Honam munonam@

◆ Strengthening Social Distancing Unavoidable = Particularly for Korea, which has successfully prevented COVID-19 spread through K-quarantine measures, concerns are raised that the damage may worsen after the gradual return to normal life. Professor Jung said, "Korea shows the lowest antibody positivity rate compared to major countries, so the damage during the With Corona phase could be greater," and diagnosed, "At present, policies to minimize personal contact and strengthen social distancing seem unavoidable."

Professor Jeong Ki-seok of Hallym University College of Medicine stated, "This is not the peak of the outbreak," and warned, "If the government does not implement stronger quarantine measures, the number of new confirmed cases will increase to an unmanageable level by the end of the year."

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