Expert: "Golden Time for Strengthening Quarantine Already Missed... Elderly Deaths Will Surge"

"Requests to strengthen distancing were made on-site before orders were received, but action was taken only now... Government failure"

Criticism of government's failure in bed demand forecasting
"Suggestions to secure beds by using temporary wards like gymnasiums were repeatedly made, but postponed citing lower ward quality"
Leadership and lack of principles also problematic

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum adjusts his glasses during the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting on COVID-19 held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 15th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The government's decision to halt the 'gradual return to normal life (With Corona)' came as the daily number of new COVID-19 cases approached 8,000 and the number of critically ill patients reached 964, setting another record high. This led to the judgment that no further delay in implementing extraordinary strengthened quarantine measures was possible. However, experts criticize that the healthcare system has already reached its limit due to a shortage of intensive care beds, and that the government's delayed decision to strengthen social distancing measures has caused the golden time to be missed.

◆ "Golden time missed" = Experts criticized that although intensive care beds nationwide are in an emergency state where they cannot accommodate more patients, the failure to implement strengthened quarantine measures in a timely manner resulted in missing the golden time. Professor Jeong Ki-seok of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital (former Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency) said, "The medical field has been requesting active bed securing and stronger social distancing measures for weeks, but the government's delayed response is a failure," adding, "With a bed occupancy rate of 85%, the system is effectively saturated, but the government’s slow pace in securing beds will lead to a surge in deaths, especially among the elderly." Professor Jeong added, "There have been repeated medical community suggestions to secure beds by utilizing temporary wards such as gymnasiums and convention centers, but decisions have been delayed due to concerns about the quality of these temporary wards."

The surge in confirmed cases following the implementation of the return to normal life was anticipated, but the government exacerbated the situation by failing to accurately predict bed demand. About a month ago, the government declared it would prepare a medical response system capable of handling up to 10,000 daily confirmed cases. However, as cases suddenly jumped to the 7,000 range, beds were exhausted faster than expected. Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, admitted on the 8th, "Initially, we secured beds assuming a severe case rate of 1.6%, but currently, the rate of critically ill patients is around 2 to 2.5%, indicating a failure in demand forecasting."

The government's measures, which lag behind the speed of case increases, are also worsening the situation. On the 6th, the government announced special quarantine measures including reducing the number of private gatherings and strengthening the vaccine pass system. Professor Baek Soon-young of the Catholic University Medical School said, "The current surge in confirmed cases is an urgent situation where waiting 1 to 2 weeks for the effects of measures is too late," emphasizing, "The initially expected level of social distancing strengthening was lower than hoped, and with the tension already reduced due to eased quarantine measures, it is difficult to expect a breakthrough effect."

On the 15th, when a record high of 7,850 new COVID-19 cases and 964 critically ill patients were reported, citizens waiting to get tested lined up at a screening clinic set up at Songpa-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

◆ Leadership disappeared and principles absent = The process of deciding to halt the return to normal life has been evaluated as revealing a complete lack of leadership. President Moon Jae-in chaired a special COVID-19 response quarantine inspection meeting at the Blue House on the 29th of last month and stated, "While postponing the transition to phase 2 of the return to normal life, we will implement special quarantine measures for the next four weeks," adding, "It is impossible to reverse the gradual return to normal life that was difficult to start and regress to the past."

Despite calls for stronger quarantine measures amid the spread of the outbreak, the quarantine authorities have consistently maintained a cautious stance. Until the day before, Son said, "The effect of strengthening the vaccine pass will appear from this week," and "We will decide on extraordinary measures after observing until tomorrow." On the 13th, Jeong Eun-kyeong, Commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, appeared on KBS Emergency Diagnosis and, when asked about the possibility of implementing extraordinary measures this week, said, "(If implemented) we are proceeding with the third dose vaccination and expanding more than 3,000 beds through administrative orders, so it will take about December," adding, "We are reviewing whether compensation can be provided with economic departments."

The vaccine pass system for restaurants and cafes, which the government promoted as a strengthened quarantine measure, also revealed the government's lack of preparation when it malfunctioned on the first and second days after the end of the grace period. Professor Cheon Eun-mi of Ewha Mokdong Hospital pointed out, "This is a repeat of the surge in demand that occurred during vaccine reservation."

Experts identified 'lack of leadership' and 'disregard for principles' as the causes of the outbreak's scale expansion and the rollback of the return to normal life. Although the criteria for strengthening quarantine had already been exceeded, responsible decisions were not made. Jang Young-wook, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, diagnosed, "In Europe, as cases surged in winter, some countries immediately responded with lockdown policies and other strengthened quarantine measures. In Korea, where medical response capacity is insufficient, strong measures were necessary, but delayed decisions caused the crisis." Another healthcare industry official argued, "It is hard to avoid criticism that political logic took precedence over public safety ahead of the presidential election."

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