Kwon Deok-cheol "Omicron Measures to be Announced as Early as This Week"... "Infection Spread Suppressed by Expanding Quarantine Pass"

Kwon Deok-cheol, First Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of Health and Welfare), is speaking at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting for COVID-19 response held at the Government Seoul Office Building on the morning of the 10th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] As the Omicron COVID-19 variant rapidly spreads overseas, becoming the dominant strain in various countries, health authorities are expected to announce measures to prepare for the spread of Omicron as early as this week.

Kwon Deok-cheol, First Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) and Minister of Health and Welfare, presided over a CDSCH meeting at the Seoul Government Complex on the morning of the 10th, stating, "Omicron is spreading fiercely internationally," and "We are swiftly preparing a response strategy for Omicron."

Deputy Minister Kwon expressed concern about the potential spread of Omicron, although "several quarantine indicators are gradually improving." According to authorities, the average number of new confirmed cases last week was 3,682, a 22% decrease compared to 4,745 the previous week, and the average number of severe patients hospitalized last week was 932, down 15% from 1,095 the previous week. The intensive care unit bed occupancy rate in the metropolitan area is also reported to be stable at 50.5%.

However, in the United States and the United Kingdom, Omicron's share has already exceeded 95%. Deputy Minister Kwon said, "Although Omicron's share is still around 10%, experts predict that due to its high transmissibility, it will become the dominant strain within one to two months," expressing concern about a rapid spread domestically as well. According to a predictive model presented by Professor Jung Jae-hoon of Gachon University College of Medicine's Department of Preventive Medicine at the 'Omicron Outbreak Outlook and Future Tasks' forum on the 7th, if Omicron spreads, the weekly average of new confirmed cases could exceed 20,000 by March, and the number of severe patients hospitalized could reach the 2,000 range.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Deputy Minister Kwon warned, "The Lunar New Year holiday, when many people travel, will be a turning point," adding, "There is little golden time left to thoroughly prepare for the Omicron wave." The current high-intensity social distancing measures are set to end on the 16th, and the adjustment plan to be announced later this week is likely to maintain the current level. If a two-week extension is announced until the 30th, confusion may arise regarding the Lunar New Year holiday (January 31 to February 2), which immediately follows, so it is also expected that social distancing measures at a similar level may be announced for about three to four weeks.

Deputy Minister Kwon stated, "We intend to adapt the existing quarantine management and medical response systems to Omicron," signaling a full transition in preparation. During the 'preparation phase' before Omicron becomes dominant, efforts will focus on blocking importation and spread through quarantine, diagnosis, and epidemiological investigations. After Omicron becomes dominant, in the 'response phase,' the quarantine and medical systems will be immediately switched according to the prepared plan. Deputy Minister Kwon added, "Regarding specific measures, after expert discussions at the Daily Recovery Support Committee, I will provide detailed information as early as this week."

Meanwhile, regarding the vaccination certificate and negative test confirmation system (quarantine pass), which has sparked controversy following recent court decisions suspending its enforcement for academies and other facilities, he said, "We will learn from various overseas cases and carefully examine whether the quarantine pass causes inconvenience to the public," but also emphasized, "The quarantine pass was expanded on December 6, and two weeks later, infection spread was suppressed and the actual number of confirmed cases began to decrease," expressing the intention to continue the policy.

Deputy Minister Kwon noted, "Questions have been raised about the effectiveness of restricting unvaccinated individuals' access to facilities amid increasing breakthrough infections," but emphasized, "Since no vaccine has 100% infection prevention efficacy, the number of breakthrough infections will inevitably increase." The authorities maintain that vaccination is necessary because vaccines effectively prevent severe illness even in breakthrough cases. According to the authorities, compared to vaccinated individuals, unvaccinated persons have a fivefold higher rate of severe illness and a fourfold higher mortality rate from COVID-19 infection. Deputy Minister Kwon reiterated, "Vaccination can reduce the damage from severe illness and death upon infection," adding, "Actual data also prove this."

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