Authorities: "Quarantine Pass Necessary to Protect Unvaccinated... Seeking Ways to Minimize Restrictions on Fundamental Rights"

Unvaccinated Individuals Account for 6% of Population but 53% of Severe Cases and Deaths

Expanding Vaccine Pass Priority Is More Rational Than Social Distancing with Large Economic Damage

Broader Vaccine Pass Exemptions Than Overseas, Including PCR Negative Results
Efforts to Minimize Rights Infringement by Allowing Solo Use of Restaurants, Cafes, and Small to Medium-Sized Markets

On the 10th, a notice informing the mandatory application of the quarantine pass was installed at the entrance of the main branch of Lotte Department Store in Jung-gu, Seoul. From this day, large-scale stores such as shopping malls, marts, department stores, agricultural and marine products distribution centers, and bookstores with an area of 3,000㎡ or more are added to the mandatory application targets of the quarantine pass (vaccination certificate and negative test confirmation system). Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] As the court puts a brake on the quarantine authorities' policy to expand the vaccination certificate and negative test confirmation system (quarantine pass), controversy surrounding the issue is growing. The quarantine authorities emphasized the necessity of the quarantine pass to protect the unvaccinated while explaining that efforts are being made to minimize restrictions on fundamental rights.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) stated on the 10th in the "Explanation Materials on the Quarantine Pass" that the purpose of the quarantine pass is to "protect the unvaccinated from the risk of infection and simultaneously suppress the spread caused by them to control the COVID-19 epidemic," and considering that it is an important quarantine measure that can control the epidemic instead of social distancing, it is reasonable to prioritize expanding the quarantine pass as a response strategy.

The authorities have been emphasizing the necessity of vaccination daily, noting that the proportion of confirmed cases, critically ill patients, and deaths among the unvaccinated is higher than their share of the population. According to the authorities, unvaccinated individuals account for only 6% of the adult population aged 18 and over, but represent 29.8% of confirmed cases aged 12 and above over the past eight weeks, 53.1% of critically ill patients, and 53.2% of deaths. Since more than half of the severe medical system is occupied with treating unvaccinated patients, minimizing infections among the unvaccinated during crisis situations where medical capacity is limited is essential to secure medical response capacity, making the quarantine pass indispensable in such situations.

They also view the quarantine pass as highly effective in blocking infection and transmission. According to the authorities, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that breakthrough infections have significantly lower transmission potential compared to unvaccinated confirmed cases, and Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced that unvaccinated individuals have a 2.3 times higher risk of infection compared to vaccinated individuals. Through this, it is explained that blocking infection and transmission among the unvaccinated suppresses the epidemic and protects the unvaccinated from infection.

From a socio-economic perspective, high-intensity social distancing affects the livelihood economy, so expanding the quarantine pass is argued to be a more rational strategy. The authorities said, "While social distancing is highly effective, it restricts the daily and economic activities of all members of society and causes damage to self-employed and small business owners, significantly impacting the livelihood economy," adding, "Social distancing infringes on citizens' fundamental rights and causes greater economic damage compared to the quarantine pass, so prioritizing the expansion of the quarantine pass is a reasonable response strategy."

On the 10th, citizens at a large supermarket in Seoul checked the validity of their quarantine passes to enter, following the addition of large-scale stores such as shopping malls, marts, department stores, agricultural and marine products distribution centers, and bookstores with an area of 3,000㎡ or more to the mandatory quarantine pass application targets. The one-week guidance period will operate until the 16th, and from the 17th, individuals will be fined 100,000 KRW per violation. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

The authorities also actively refuted doubts about the effectiveness of the quarantine pass raised by some. They explained that since the quarantine pass was massively expanded to 16 types of facilities such as restaurants, cafes, and academies on the 6th of last month, the number of confirmed cases has been on a downward trend. Two weeks after the quarantine pass expansion, from the 19th to the 25th of last month, the weekly average number of confirmed cases was 6,101, an 11.1% decrease from the previous week's 6,865, marking the first decline since the 5th major wave, and this decline has been reinforced by the transition to high-intensity social distancing.

It was also explained that other countries introduce quarantine passes when a resurgence occurs. Denmark lifted its COVID pass (quarantine pass) in September last year but reintroduced it in November after a resurgence two months later, and Israel strengthened its quarantine pass last October, resulting in a clear decrease in confirmed cases.

Meanwhile, regarding the restriction of fundamental rights, which is considered a major factor in the court's suspension of the quarantine pass's effectiveness for academies and other facilities, the authorities emphasized efforts to resolve this. Even unvaccinated individuals can use facilities if they provide a negative PCR test, and exceptions are made for those under 18 (under 11 from March), COVID-19 recovered patients, and those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons, recognizing as many exceptions as possible.

According to the authorities, Germany's "2G Rule" and Italy's "Super Green Pass" only recognize recovered patients as exceptions besides vaccinated individuals. France's "Health Pass," which currently includes PCR negative individuals, recovered patients, and those who cannot be vaccinated for unavoidable reasons as exceptions, is strengthening the system to exclude PCR negative individuals from exceptions. This indicates that Korea recognizes a broader range of exceptions compared to overseas. Additionally, they emphasized that they are reviewing expanding exceptions for medical reasons such as Guillain-Barr? syndrome and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis.

Regarding the facilities subject to the quarantine pass, restaurants and cafes, despite their high infection risk, allow single-person use for unvaccinated individuals who must use these facilities. For marts and stores, the quarantine pass is introduced only in 2,000 large marts and department stores over 3,000㎡ where many people gather, while 1.02 million neighborhood supermarkets and small to medium-sized stores remain accessible, minimizing the scope and seeking alternative measures. Furthermore, the quarantine pass is not applied to public transportation, and even in multi-use facilities where the quarantine pass is implemented, unvaccinated workers are allowed to work, sufficiently preventing employment disadvantages.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Considering these points, the quarantine authorities emphasized that the quarantine pass is an effective policy that can be utilized during the COVID-19 epidemic phase. Without the quarantine pass, the epidemic suppression effect would disappear, and the easing of quarantine vigilance would reduce the effect of epidemic decline, raising concerns about the possibility of resurgence, making it difficult to ease social distancing during this phase.

They also explained that as the Omicron COVID-19 variant, which is spreading worldwide recently, gradually expands its spread domestically, a cautious approach to easing quarantine measures is necessary. Without the quarantine pass, strengthening social distancing, which would inevitably cause greater inconvenience to all citizens and small business owners and self-employed individuals, would be unavoidable.

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