Omicron to Dominate Next Weekend... Isolation Shortened to 7 Days Starting from 7,000 Confirmed Cases (Summary)

Quarantine and Medical Response Measures
Preparedness Phase up to 5,000 Cases
Response Phase Activated from 7,000 Cases
Introduction of Citizen Participation Epidemiological Investigation

PCR Testing Focused on High-Risk Groups
Paid Rapid Antigen Testing to be Implemented at Hospital and Clinic Level

Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol is speaking at the joint government briefing on the extension of quarantine measures and support for small business owners held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 14th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The government forecasts that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 will become the dominant strain in South Korea around the 21st of this month and plans to significantly overhaul the quarantine and medical response systems. With social distancing measures easing, confirmed cases could surge up to 30,000 by the end of next month, and severe cases are expected to rise sharply to between 700 and 1,700. Given these projections, the current quarantine system is expected to reach its limits in handling the situation. Accordingly, once daily confirmed cases exceed 7,000, the government will shift to a full-scale Omicron response phase and shorten the isolation period for patients from the current 10 days to 7 days. PCR testing will be focused on high-risk groups, and rapid antigen tests (test kits) will be conducted on a paid basis at hospital and clinic-level medical institutions.

◆Confirmed cases could rise to 30,000 per day= On the 14th, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters and the Central Disease Control Headquarters announced the 'Omicron Spread Response Strategy' to transition the quarantine and medical systems in preparation for Omicron becoming the dominant strain. Kwon Deok-cheol, First Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of Health and Welfare), stated, "Our quarantine system is facing a major challenge," adding, "Looking at cases in leading countries, if responses are mishandled, confirmed cases can increase by tens of times, leading to a surge in hospitalizations and overburdening the medical system." Park Hyang, Head of the Quarantine General Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said, "The Omicron variant is 2 to 3 times more transmissible than Delta, and overseas cases such as in the UK show that the doubling time of confirmed cases was only 2 days."

The government will classify the response into an Omicron preparation phase for up to 5,000 new daily confirmed cases and a response phase starting from 7,000 cases per day. During the preparation phase, the existing 3T strategy?Test, Trace, Treat?will be maintained. PCR testing capacity will be increased from the current 750,000 tests per day to 850,000 tests per day, raising testing capacity by 100,000. To block overseas inflow, entry restrictions will continue for 11 countries including South Africa, direct flights from Ethiopia will be suspended, and all arrivals will be subject to a 10-day quarantine. Quarantine exemption certificates will be issued minimally under stricter criteria to prevent Omicron inflow. The PCR negative certificate requirement will be tightened from 72 hours to 48 hours before departure, and circuit breaker measures on flights will continue. For close contacts who have completed their second vaccination, the current 6-month validity period for quarantine exemption will be maintained, but shortening the validity period based on the elapsed time since vaccination will be further reviewed.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

◆Paid rapid antigen tests if confirmed cases exceed 10,000= When confirmed cases surpass around 7,000, the government will shift from conventional infection control to a strategy focused on preventing severe cases and promoting autonomous and responsible responses. Since blocking overseas inflow will have less significance due to Omicron dominance, entry restrictions on the 11 countries will be lifted, and countries will be managed based on risk levels. To prepare for a surge in PCR test demand, testing priority will be narrowed to high-risk groups for severe COVID-19, facilities vulnerable to cluster infections, and those epidemiologically linked. The role of private medical institutions in diagnostic testing will be expanded to increase paid rapid antigen testing, which will be covered by health insurance. Park said, "The scale of the outbreak exceeding PCR testing capacity is about 10,000 confirmed cases per day," adding, "Rapid antigen tests, besides PCR, can be used for vaccination proof and negative confirmation (quarantine pass), but self-tests will not be recognized."

In the response phase, to improve epidemiological investigation efficiency, a citizen participation-type epidemiological investigation will be introduced. The isolation period for confirmed cases will be shortened from 10 days to 7 days, with confirmed cases advised to follow quarantine rules for 3 days after release from isolation. Close contacts will be released from quarantine on the 7th day if a PCR test on the 6th day after last contact is negative. A self-reporting epidemiological investigation system will be fully implemented, where confirmed cases input their personal information and contacts themselves, and health centers verify the data, transitioning epidemiological investigations to a citizen participation model. Investigations will be focused on family, workplace, acquaintances, people aged 60 and over, nursing hospitals/facilities, and other vulnerable facilities (schools, medical institutions, facilities for the disabled, etc.), while other facilities will not be investigated. To prepare for 20,000 new confirmed cases per day, 1,200 additional beds will be added at key residential treatment centers for patients who cannot be assigned hospital beds or treated at home, and the medical system will operate a daily care system centered on local hospitals and clinics.

◆Vaccination plan for children aged 5-11 to be prepared in February= Vaccination efforts will be accelerated. From February, the vaccination target will be expanded to children, and fourth doses will be gradually administered to immunocompromised and high-risk groups. Vaccination will be strongly encouraged for unvaccinated seniors aged 60 and over, who are at high risk of severe illness and death, and vaccination for unvaccinated individuals will be implemented following the approval of the Novavax vaccine. Additionally, vaccination will be encouraged for adolescents aged 12-17, and vaccination plans for approximately 3 million children aged 5-11 are under review considering the approval and introduction schedule of pediatric vaccines by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. In the response phase, plans to rapidly introduce updated vaccines effective against the Omicron variant will also be pursued. Furthermore, post-vaccination response measures will be strengthened, including the establishment of a death consolation fund (50 million KRW) and other enhanced aftercare measures.

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