"Due to Explosive Increase in Home Treatment Patients" ... Focused Management Only for Those Aged 60 and Over and High-Risk Groups

Jungdaebon 'Omicron Response Measures'
Focus on Patients Aged 50 and Over with Underlying Conditions
General Patients Must Manage Themselves
Revised Isolation Method for Confirmed Cases and Cohabitants
Essential Outings Allowed for Families of Home Treatment Patients

A hopeful message saying "Winter was long, but spring will come" was displayed on the exterior wall of Seoul Library in Jung-gu, Seoul. On the morning of the 7th, as the number of new COVID-19 cases reached 35,286, citizens lined up at the screening clinic in City Hall Plaza for testing. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporters Jo In-kyung, Lee Kwan-joo, Kim Young-won] The government's decision to shift to home treatment primarily for high-risk groups such as patients aged 60 and over and those aged 50 and over with underlying conditions is a measure to respond to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. The aim is to efficiently utilize limited human and material resources to minimize severe cases and deaths. Direct government support for the lower-risk general patient group will effectively be discontinued.

Focus on Managing Severe Cases and Deaths

The government announced the "Omicron Wave Response Quarantine and Medical System Measures" on the 7th, which is interpreted as a decisive shift in the COVID-19 response system to move closer to phased daily recovery (With Corona). As Omicron has become the dominant strain domestically and new daily cases have surged to the 30,000 range for three consecutive days, the system has been reorganized into an Omicron-tailored quarantine and medical system focusing on preventing severe illness and death among high-risk groups.

First, home treatment patients will be classified into intensive management groups such as those aged 60 and over, and general management groups, with health monitoring focused on the intensive management group. The intensive management group will have their health status monitored twice daily by phone through home treatment management medical institutions, while the general management group will self-manage without regular monitoring and receive telemedicine or consultations at local clinics if necessary.

The distribution of home treatment kits including oxygen saturation meters, antipyretics, thermometers, and daily necessities will also be simplified. Kits will be distributed thoroughly to patients who need them, such as confirmed cases in the intensive management group aged 60 and over. The GPS-based self-quarantine application (app) will be abolished. For epidemiological investigations, a "self-entry questionnaire" will be introduced where confirmed patients enter contact information directly on a webpage, and the investigation items will be simplified. Additionally, cohabiting family members of home treatment patients will be allowed essential outings for purchasing daily necessities.

President Moon Jae-in stated, "In addition to compliance with quarantine rules and vaccination, individuals' roles have increased across the revamped quarantine and medical system, including self-testing with rapid antigen tests and self-entry epidemiological investigations," adding, "Most importantly, raising the role of local clinics in the new testing and treatment system is crucial, so I ask for more participation from clinics to manage the rapidly increasing number of patients."

Simplification of Isolation for Confirmed Cases and Cohabitants

This policy shift reflects concerns that with Omicron becoming dominant, the number of confirmed cases and home treatment patients will rapidly increase for the time being. On the 23rd of last month, there were 26,127 home treatment patients, which nearly doubled to 50,627 by the 28th, five days later. The numbers continued to rise to 60,000 on the 30th, 70,000 on the 31st, 80,000 on the 1st of this month, 90,000 on the 3rd, 100,000 on the 4th, 110,000 on the 5th, and 120,000 on the 6th. As of midnight on the 7th, the number of home treatment patients reached 146,445. This is due to the number of new home treatment cases far exceeding those completing the 7-10 day isolation period. Including cohabitants and caregivers under joint isolation, concerns have been raised that isolation could affect not only individuals but also many organizations such as companies and government offices, potentially paralyzing social functions. In response, the isolation methods for confirmed cases and co-isolators were reorganized during discussions on this day.

Professor Kim Woo-joo of the Infectious Diseases Department at Korea University Guro Hospital said, "Even if 40,000 confirmed cases are reported now, the actual number of patients could be higher," and warned, "Because patients are increasing explosively, a 'Business Continuity Plan (BCP)' for each sector must be prepared quickly. It is already somewhat late."

Professor Chun Eun-mi of the Respiratory Medicine Department at Ewha Mokdong Hospital suggested, "Essential social workers should undergo regular rapid testing at their workplaces," and recommended, "The government should provide free test kits so that testing once or twice a week would be sufficient."

Increasing Participation of Local Clinics

The participation rate of local clinics, which is key to the Omicron variant response system shift, remains insufficient. The number of local clinics (designated respiratory treatment medical institutions) participating in COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment has increased to 779. Since 1,938 clinics initially expressed willingness to participate, the number is expected to rise further. However, many preparations such as purchasing test kits and protective equipment and separating patient flows must be done individually by clinics without support from quarantine authorities, causing delays. As a result, seven clinics that initially applied to participate voluntarily decided to suspend operations.

Yeom Ho-gi, Chair of the COVID-19 Countermeasures Committee at the Korean Medical Association, emphasized, "If medical institutions decide it is better not to treat Omicron patients and only provide general care, the quality of Omicron treatment may deteriorate," adding, "Proactive measures such as financial support should be provided to create conditions for local clinics to treat patients. We should also reduce patient numbers by utilizing telemedicine and actively prescribing Paxlovid treatment."

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