"Daily COVID-19 Cases Near 50,000... Home Treatment Patients Exceed 168,000"

Jungdaebon Expands Medical Institutions to 650 Capable of Managing 200,000 High-Risk Patients

On the 7th, when 35,286 new COVID-19 cases were reported, citizens visiting the temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul City Hall Plaza were waiting to get tested. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The number of new daily COVID-19 cases in South Korea is expected to reach 50,000. The number of patients receiving home treatment also hit an all-time high of approximately 168,000.

Ryu Geun-hyeok, the 1st General Coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Vice Minister of Health and Welfare), stated in his opening remarks at the COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on the 9th, "As the number of confirmed cases is rapidly increasing day by day, the number of patients receiving home treatment has exceeded 168,000 as of today."

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, with the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, the average daily number of confirmed cases has sharply increased by an average of 1.7 times over three weeks: 5,159 in the third week of January (1.5 times compared to the previous week), 11,877 in the fourth week of January (2.3 times), and 22,657 in the first week of February (1.9 times).

However, despite the surge in confirmed cases, the severity rate and mortality rate remain low at about one-third of the levels seen with the Delta variant.

Ryu, the 1st General Coordinator, explained, "In line with the characteristics of Omicron, we have shifted our quarantine and medical strategy to focus on minimizing severe cases and deaths." He added, "Since the 3rd, PCR testing has been limited to high-risk groups, and from the 7th, a self-reporting questionnaire has been introduced for epidemiological investigations." According to the new response system, the quarantine authorities will manage home treatment patients primarily focusing on the intensive care group, such as those aged 60 and over, starting from the 10th, while mild or asymptomatic general management groups are asked to monitor their own health status.

Ryu emphasized, "There are concerns and worries that general management group patients might be left alone without proper care, but the principle that all COVID-19 patients are safely managed under national responsibility continues to be upheld."

He continued, "For the intensive care group, we will first expand home treatment management medical institutions to 650 to be able to manage up to 200,000 patients."

Previously, the government operated 'Home Care Support Counseling Centers' by city and province during nighttime to provide appropriate medical services to the general management group, and designated 112 outpatient clinics nationwide, COVID-19 dedicated emergency beds, and cohort isolation zones within emergency rooms for cases requiring face-to-face treatment.

Meanwhile, the Novavax vaccine, which SK Bioscience has been contract-manufacturing domestically, will be supplied in South Korea for the first time starting today. Ryu stated, "Novavax will be primarily used for unvaccinated individuals aged 18 and over based on the approval by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety," and added, "Considering its convenient storage and distribution, priority vaccination will be given to those with mobility difficulties such as hospitalized patients, homebound elderly, and severely disabled individuals."

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