Next Week's Preview: 'Drastic Measures?'... Will Ultra-Strict Actions from a Year Ago Reappear?

On the afternoon of the 10th, when stringent social distancing and other extraordinary quarantine measures were announced, a confirmed COVID-19 patient arriving at the dedicated COVID-19 hospital in Sejong is being moved to a negative pressure ward.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] As the government has announced that it will introduce drastic quarantine measures if the recent COVID-19 situation does not improve, attention is focused on what actions the quarantine authorities will take.

On the 10th, the government stated that if the spread does not slow down despite the effects of the special quarantine measures announced on the 3rd, it may implement measures such as reducing the number of private gatherings and restricting business hours next week.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum emphasized on the day, "If it is judged that it will be difficult to reverse the crisis phase our community is facing in the near future, the government will have no choice but to decide on drastic quarantine measures including strong social distancing."

When asked what the drastic measures would mean, Lee Ki-il, the 1st Controller of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, replied, "We plan to further consider restrictions on operating hours and private gatherings," but added, "We will do our best to avoid a lockdown."

He also said, "The strongest measures during the third wave last winter were the ban on private gatherings of five or more people and the 9 PM operating restriction."

Earlier, in December last year, the government implemented ultra-strong policies applying special quarantine measures with social distancing level 2.5 in the metropolitan area and level 2 in non-metropolitan areas.

In the metropolitan area, private gatherings of five or more people were banned, and for several weeks this was expanded nationwide. Restaurants were only allowed to admit up to four people, and after 9 PM, only takeout and delivery were permitted. Cafes cleared tables and chairs to only offer takeout and delivery, and singing practice rooms were closed.

As a result, the spread was successfully curbed, but the festive atmosphere of the year-end and New Year disappeared, the streets became deserted, and many industries suffered economically.

Most experts emphasize that it will be difficult for the quarantine situation to improve quickly with the recent government special quarantine measures or shortened intervals for additional vaccinations, and stress the need for strong responses at the level of lockdowns.

It will take at least two months for the effects of the third dose implementation and public participation to appear, so the urgent priority is to control the soaring number of confirmed cases exceeding 7,000.

Professor Jeong Ki-seok of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital said, "Only a strong lockdown with sufficient compensation for small business owners and self-employed people remains," adding, "All multi-use facilities where masks are removed must suspend operations."

Professor Jeong said, "If this is not done, the spread and loss of life cannot be stopped. The domestic quarantine situation has reached the worst level ever, even more than the influx of the new Omicron variant," and added, "I am worried about the innocent citizens' loss of life due to policies that tighten when they should and fail to loosen when they should."

Meanwhile, the government hopes that the spread will slow down with the special additional measures announced last week. Regarding whether to take further quarantine measures, they said, "Rather than detailed criteria such as confirmed cases or severe cases, we will evaluate various factors weekly and stepwise, and decide through an emergency committee evaluation."

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