"Omicron Share to Exceed 50% Within 1-2 Weeks"…Tomorrow's Announcement on Quarantine System Reform (Update)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The government anticipates that the domestic Omicron variant will surpass a 50% share within the next 1 to 2 weeks.

On the 13th, Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated during a back briefing, "Within two weeks, Omicron will replace the Delta variant and occupy more than half of the cases," adding, "We expect the overall epidemic to shift to being dominated by Omicron."

Son also predicted, "Currently, the COVID-19 outbreak is on a declining trend, but as Omicron becomes the dominant strain, the rate of decline may slow down or even reverse into an increase."

The detection rate of the Omicron variant domestically was 12.5% as of last week. The government considers the point when confirmed cases begin to rise again as a potential baseline for the fifth wave.

Son said, "Social distancing and the vaccine pass system are reducing the overall scale of the outbreak, but cases will rebound and increase again," adding, "That rebound point will serve as a kind of baseline for the fifth wave."

He continued, "Hopefully, the outbreak scale will start from a lower level," and added, "It is uncertain how much of a decline can be maintained as the Omicron share rises."

Regarding the recent increase in imported cases, measures to strengthen quarantine are under discussion.

Son stated, "Since the Omicron outbreak overseas is so widespread, many incoming travelers are infected with COVID-19 upon entry," and he mentioned, "Rather than blocking specific countries, it is important to minimize quarantine exemptions for arrivals and identify confirmed cases through testing during the quarantine period."

About the social distancing adjustment plan to be announced tomorrow, Son said, "We are gathering opinions from the quarantine division, the Daily Recovery Support Committee, local governments, and related ministries, and will make a comprehensive decision based on various views," adding, "There may also be impacts depending on the court's decision regarding the suspension of the vaccination certificate and negative test confirmation system (vaccine pass), so multiple discussions are ongoing."

The government plans to announce the Omicron response quarantine system reform plan along with the social distancing adjustment plan, including measures for the Lunar New Year holiday, at the regular briefing of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters on the morning of the 14th.

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