Death of a Teen with No Underlying Conditions After Second Vaccine Dose and Home Treatment Sparks Controversy Over Quarantine Gaps

Health Authorities: "Isolation Lifted Due to Symptom Relief"

Due to the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, with more than 30,000 new confirmed cases daily, the cumulative number of confirmed cases surpassed 1 million on the 6th. Citizens are lining up in a long queue at a temporary screening clinic installed in Peace Park, Mapo-gu, Seoul, to get tested for COVID-19. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

A teenager who was released from isolation after receiving home treatment for COVID-19 died four days later, raising concerns about gaps in management.

According to Gwangju City on the 6th, A (17), a student at a high school in Gwangju, passed away on the morning of the 4th while receiving treatment at Chonnam National University Hospital. He is the first teenager to die from COVID-19 in South Korea. A was known to have a robust physique, majoring in physical education, had no underlying health conditions, and had completed his second dose of the vaccine.

A was diagnosed with COVID-19 on the 24th of last month and received home treatment for a week, then was released from isolation on the 31st. However, the day before his death, he complained of breathing difficulties and chest pain, was transported to the hospital for treatment, and died. The hospital estimated the cause of death to be pulmonary embolism caused by COVID-19.

Since he died only four days after being released from isolation, concerns have been raised about possible gaps in home treatment management.

In response to criticism that home treatment monitoring was lax, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters of the Ministry of Health and Welfare stated on the 6th that "the deceased received home treatment before the home treatment management system was changed."

The government reduced the frequency of monitoring for home treatment patients from 2-3 times a day to 1-2 times a day starting from the 3rd. High-risk groups are monitored twice a day instead of three times, and general patients once a day instead of twice.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters explained that when A was receiving home treatment, monitoring was conducted twice a day. They added that A’s symptoms had improved after home treatment, and he was released from isolation without any notable issues.

Due to the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, with more than 30,000 new confirmed cases daily, the cumulative number of confirmed cases surpassed 1 million on the 6th. Citizens are lining up in a long queue at a temporary screening clinic set up in Peace Park, Mapo-gu, Seoul, to get tested for COVID-19. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

Coincidentally, A was subject to the shortened isolation period during his home treatment. Since the 26th of last month, the government shortened the isolation period for vaccinated home treatment patients from 10 days to 7 days. They also allowed local governments and medical institutions to retroactively apply the shortened isolation period to patients who started home treatment before the 26th.

However, even when the home treatment period was 10 days, health management was conducted twice a day for only 7 days, and the remaining 3 days were self-isolation without health monitoring.

As of midnight on that day, there were 128,716 home treatment patients, filling 79.0% of the maximum manageable capacity of 163,000.

The government plans to increase the number of medical institutions participating in home treatment to expand capacity, but it is becoming difficult to handle the surge in confirmed cases due to the spread of the Omicron variant.

The government intends to discuss and announce improvements to the quarantine medical system for Omicron response at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting on the 7th.

Meanwhile, by 6 p.m. on the 6th, more than 20,000 confirmed cases?the highest ever?were reported. A total of 23,684 people tested positive for COVID-19 across 17 cities and provinces nationwide. This is 2,346 more than the previous record of 21,338 cases reported at the same time the day before.

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