An "New COVID-19 quarantine guidelines full of loopholes, neglecting the public" ... Proposes expanding focused management targets

Patients with underlying conditions should be intensively managed regardless of age
Free test kits should be provided and oral medication procedures streamlined

Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, is attending the Central Election Countermeasures Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 10th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, on the 10th demanded a shift in the government’s quarantine policy in response to the rapidly spreading COVID-19. Candidate Ahn proposed quarantine policy measures including expanding the scope of intensive management and easing the prescription criteria for oral antiviral drugs for home-treated patients.

At the People’s Party election committee meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Ahn said, “If the spread is not controlled during the Lunar New Year holiday, the number of confirmed cases per day will reach 10,000 to 15,000 by the end of February, which is more than 10 times higher than the government’s estimate on January 20.” He criticized, “As the situation has become like this, the government hastily issued new quarantine guidelines, but they are full of loopholes.” He added, “If the forecast was wrong, proper countermeasures should be established, but the government’s new quarantine guidelines are, in short, a policy of neglecting the people. They are leaving the people to wait for the Omicron variant to subside on its own.”

He presented seven supplementary measures in this regard.

Candidate Ahn said, “People who have underlying diseases or cannot be vaccinated due to allergies or pregnancy should be included in the intensive management group regardless of age.” He expressed concern, saying, “It is common sense that young people with underlying diseases or single-person households require different responses depending on their individual health conditions, but the uniform home treatment policy may create blind spots in management.”

He continued, “To reduce the burden of testing and prevent the spread, self-test kits should be provided free of charge to all citizens, as in the United States or Singapore.” He pointed out, “Providing self-test kits only to the intensive management group is clearly unscientific.”

Ahn insisted, “Face-to-face medical facilities dedicated to COVID-19 treatment by station should be established.” He added, “Mobile hospital facilities should be immediately set up in medical blind spots, and military medical personnel should be prioritized for deployment to those areas. All means should be mobilized to prevent the emergence of medically vulnerable areas.”

Furthermore, he said, “The prescription criteria for oral antiviral drugs and the medication procedures should be simplified to prevent severe illness among home-treated patients.” He explained, “Currently, even if confirmed positive, people do not receive immediate contact from health centers and have to visit in person to find out whether they qualify for home treatment. Even when they manage to meet medical staff, many cases occur where antiviral drug Paxlovid cannot be administered because more than five days have passed since symptoms began.”

Candidate Ahn said, “The expansion of the prescription target for oral antiviral drugs should be actively considered.” He added, “It is necessary to significantly lower the prescription target for oral antiviral drugs, which is currently limited to those aged 50 and above or with underlying diseases, to those aged 12 and above.”

He also proposed forming a city/county/district infection control consultative body. He explained, “Even if the government tries to implement quarantine measures effectively, it cannot be effective if it does not consult with medical personnel and medical organizations located in each city, county, and district. The infection control consultative body should be chaired by the head of the local government and composed by convening the heads of local health centers, medical association presidents, hospital association presidents, and nursing association presidents. Through direct advice from these experts, quarantine measures can be operated effectively.”

He also called for disaster relief and financial measures due to COVID-19. Candidate Ahn said, “In a situation where hundreds of thousands of confirmed cases occur daily, if loan extensions for self-employed business owners are blocked, it will be difficult for them to endure any longer.” He added, “A special COVID-19 account should be established to have a systematic and institutional disaster relief response system.”

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