K-Quarantine Ultimately Breached by Omicron

445 New COVID-19 Cases Reported at 4 PM
Inadequate Management of Overseas Arrivals and Cohabitants

On the 27th, as the morning temperature in Seoul dropped to minus 11 degrees Celsius, continuing the severe cold wave, citizens lined up to get tested at the COVID-19 screening center set up at Songpa-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The number of Omicron variant COVID-19 cases increased to 445 on the 27th. This is nearly a threefold surge in just over ten days. As the government plans to deploy PCR reagents nationwide from the 30th to identify Omicron within 3 to 4 hours, concerns are rising that hidden infections in local communities could explode. Experts have pointed out the need to completely revise the 'K-Quarantine' strategy, which focuses on blocking the spread through epidemiological investigations of infected individuals.

◆ Omicron infections triple in ten days = According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH), as of midnight on the day, 69 new Omicron variant infections were confirmed, bringing the total to 445. Among the new confirmed cases, 49 were domestic infections, marking the highest number since the Omicron variant was introduced into the country. Notably, infections occurred in 16 out of 17 provinces and cities nationwide, except Chungnam. There were also 20 imported cases, 15 of whom arrived from the United States. Additionally, three cases came from Spain, and one each from Canada and Tanzania. The proportion of overseas arrivals from countries other than the 11 African nations under entry restrictions to block Omicron is increasing.

Experts point out the limitations of such entry restrictions as Omicron is expected to become dominant domestically next month. Professor Jeong Ki-seok of Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital’s Department of Respiratory Medicine said, "Initially, the virus was imported from some African countries designated as enhanced quarantine, high-risk, or quarantine exemption exclusion countries such as South Africa and Nigeria, but now more cases are coming from countries without entry restrictions," adding, "Entry restrictions have effectively lost their significance." Therefore, he explained that measures to strengthen entry quarantine, such as expanding facility quarantine for arrivals, are necessary. Currently, short-term foreign visitors are quarantined in temporary living facilities, while Korean nationals and long-term foreign residents undergo self-quarantine. Professor Jeong said, "The time to block Omicron through entry controls has passed," and added, "Even for non-foreigners, expanding facility quarantine for overseas arrivals could delay Omicron’s introduction."

On the 27th, as the morning temperature in Seoul dropped to minus 11 degrees Celsius, continuing the severe cold wave, citizens lined up to get tested at the COVID-19 screening center set up at Songpa-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

◆ Poor management of overseas arrivals and cohabitants = In particular, delays in confirming Omicron infections even after COVID-19 diagnosis are causing gaps in epidemiological investigations. In cases such as restaurants in Iksan, Jeonbuk, Wonju, Gangwon-do, and Geoje, Gyeongnam, the first patient’s infection source?when, where, and from whom?remains unknown. The recent surge in new cases to the 7,000 range has pushed epidemiological investigations to their limits, which is also cited as a main cause of Omicron’s spread. A government official lamented, "Our country’s quarantine strategy has been built around the 3Ts?Test, Trace, and Treat?but after the spread of the Delta variant and the phased return to normal life, epidemiological investigations have effectively become ‘trend observation.’"

Experts point out that as ‘tracing’ has effectively collapsed, numerous gaps in quarantine measures are emerging. Professor Cheon Eun-mi of Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital said, "The biggest problem is that management of cohabitants of confirmed cases is not properly conducted," adding, "Delayed confirmation of infections among overseas arrivals is accelerating community transmission of Omicron through their cohabitants and families."

The government announced that to enable rapid identification of Omicron, PCR reagents specific to the Omicron variant will be distributed by the 30th to testing institutions in local governments (18 provincial public health and environment research institutes) and five regional response centers of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Existing PCR testing equipment used for diagnosis will be utilized.

Professor Jeong predicted, "As Omicron identification becomes easier, the number of infections will soon rise to thousands." Experts agreed that although the number of severe and critical patients decreased by three to 1,078 on the day, with over 1,000 patients maintained for a week, efforts should focus on securing hospital beds, delaying Omicron’s entry as much as possible, and preparing thoroughly with oral antiviral treatments and other measures.

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