"Anyone Can Get Infected Anywhere"... Citizens Fearful of Stares Toward Confirmed Cases

Explosive Increase in Confirmed Cases Due to Omicron Variant
"Worry About Workplace Pressure and Social Stigma"... Citizens Fear the 'Stigma Effect'
More Than Half of Citizens Say They Fear Being Blamed for Infection
Potential Negative Impact on Epidemiological Investigations and More

On the 6th, Seoul citizens crossing a crosswalk. On this day, the number of new COVID-19 confirmed cases exceeded 30,000. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] "I can't go outside because they say you can get infected even if you wear a mask," "If I test positive, I'll feel pressured at work... I'm anxious."

As the Omicron variant spreads and the daily number of COVID-19 confirmed cases explodes, citizens' anxiety is also growing. Although the fatality rate is known to be lower compared to other COVID-19 variants, there is concern about the 'gaze' from those around if one tests positive.

Earlier, during the initial COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, there were criticisms in Korea about excessive disclosure of confirmed patients' movements, blame, and prejudice causing burdens.

According to data from the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight on the 7th, the number of new COVID-19 confirmed cases was 35,286. Although this is about 3,000 fewer than the previous day's 38,689, the number has remained above 30,000 for several days despite a decrease in testing due to the holiday.

As the Omicron variant, known to be much more transmissible than other COVID-19 variants, has become dominant in Korea, the number of confirmed cases is increasing explosively.

The health authorities even predicted that the daily number of confirmed cases could exceed 100,000 by the end of this month. At a regular briefing that morning, Jung Eun-kyung, Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), stated, "According to predictions from KDCA and various domestic and international experts, due to the impact of the Omicron variant, the number of confirmed cases in Korea could reach between 130,000 and 170,000 by the end of February."

An average of 170,000 confirmed cases per day means about 1.2 million cumulative confirmed cases in a week. Out of Korea's population of 51.78 million, this means about 2.3% get infected with COVID-19 every week. It is at a level where it would not be surprising to get infected anytime and anywhere.

A citizen visiting an otolaryngology clinic in Jongno-gu, Seoul, is undergoing a COVID-19 test in a negative pressure examination room. / Photo by Yonhap News

The Omicron variant is known to have strong transmissibility but a much lower fatality rate. Although the number of confirmed cases is increasing explosively, the daily death toll has been gradually decreasing over the past week, and the intensive care unit bed occupancy rate is also at a comfortable 18.4%. The cumulative fatality rate is 0.68%, significantly down from 0.91% just before Omicron became dominant in Korea.

However, citizens' worries are not only about health deterioration. Some citizens expressed concerns about the 'glares' they might receive from family, friends, and coworkers if they test positive for COVID-19.

A 20-something office worker, Mr. A, said, "If I test positive, the people around me will also have to get tested, and I won't be able to go to work, right? Although it's unavoidable because it's an infectious disease, I worry that I might be causing inconvenience to those around me."

Another office worker, Mr. B (30), said, "In 2020 and last year, whenever a COVID-19 case was confirmed, the movement paths were disclosed, and it was shared on SNS and online communities, causing a big fuss. Those memories are still vivid, so I'm still afraid of the gaze from those around me."

According to a survey conducted by the Gyeonggi-do Public Health Medical Support Group and Professor Yoo Myung-soon’s team at Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Health from June 3 to 17, 2020, targeting 1,498 COVID-19 confirmed patients and contacts, citizens were found to fear criticism and contempt from others more than the COVID-19 virus itself.

The appearance of a hospital that was closed during the first COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 / Photo by Yonhap News

The survey measured the degree of fear regarding COVID-19 on a 5-point scale according to the question items. The results showed that the public scored 3.87 points for 'fear of criticism and harm from others after testing positive,' 3.47 points for 'fear of reinfection after recovery,' and 2.75 points for 'fear of not fully recovering.'

The worry about the so-called 'stigma effect' was greater than the fear of reinfection and severe symptoms from the infectious disease.

In the 'Korea Social Trends 2021' report released by Statistics Korea at the end of last year, 56.5% of respondents answered that they were afraid of being criticized and harmed because of testing positive.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in Korea in early 2020, the health authorities managed the spread based on a strong '3T strategy.' The 3T strategy stands for testing, tracing, and treatment. The core was to identify confirmed cases through PCR testing, investigate their movement paths, select close contacts, and isolate them to actively break the chain of virus transmission.

However, during this process, detailed disclosure of confirmed patients' visited locations raised privacy concerns, and some patients' movement paths were exposed on social networking services (SNS) and online communities, leading to malicious comments and rumors from netizens. The stigma against confirmed patients sometimes escalated into hatred. For example, in early May 2020, a large-scale cluster infection at a club in Itaewon, Seoul, led to a flood of criticism directed at sexual minorities.

Due to a cluster infection originating in Itaewon, Seoul, hate speech against sexual minorities also emerged. / Photo by Yonhap News

The stigma effect on confirmed patients can help some aspects of quarantine by continuously instilling tension and vigilance among citizens. However, the negative effects are much greater. Confirmed patients who fear the gaze of others may not disclose their movement paths accurately or may hide their infection status.

This negative effect could worsen as quarantine policies change. On the 7th, the government announced the introduction of a 'self-reporting questionnaire' to improve the efficiency of epidemiological investigations. Since epidemiological investigators cannot manage tens of thousands of new patients daily, the plan is to switch to a method where confirmed patients fill out their own movement paths.

However, if confirmed patients do not fill out the questionnaire sincerely due to concerns about others' gaze, the new quarantine system risks becoming ineffective.

The health authorities also emphasized that voluntary cooperation from citizens is most important for the new quarantine system to function properly.

At the briefing that day, Director Jung introduced the 'self-reporting epidemiological investigation' method, saying, "It is now time to introduce quarantine and medical management systems that fit the characteristics of the Omicron variant," and added, "To improve the efficiency of basic epidemiological investigations, we will introduce a self-reporting questionnaire."

She continued, "Since protecting high-risk groups is important at this time, we will simplify the basic investigation questions and actively utilize the self-reporting epidemiological questionnaire to speed up the response of public health centers," and explained, "Based on the medical response capacity and oral antiviral treatments that the government has expanded, we will minimize severe cases and deaths."

Lee Ki-il, the 1st Controller of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, also emphasized at the briefing that day, "The cooperation of the public is absolutely necessary. Voluntary freedom and responsibility are strongly required."

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