Omicron, Is It Better to Just Catch It... First Reporting Scientist Says "It's Like Gambling"

"Certain High Risks, May Cause Complications"
Severe and Critical Patient Numbers Shift to Increasing Trend, Reaching Late 300s

Dr. Angelique Coetzee, the South African doctor who first reported the Omicron variant in the world / Photo by Channel A

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] The Omicron variant, known to spread much faster than previous COVID-19 variants but with a lower fatality rate, is rapidly spreading in South Korea. Amid claims from some quarters that "it might be better to get infected and gain immunity," the scientist who first reported Omicron to the world has warned that "such claims are a gamble."

Dr. Angelique Coetzee, a physician from South Africa, pointed this out in an interview with 'Channel A' on the 17th, saying, "The fact that Omicron is mild does not mean you can ignore it."

She added, "Besides age, other factors might cause high risk or complications." This means that even if Omicron causes only mild symptoms compared to previous COVID-19 strains, its effects can vary depending on underlying conditions or physical health.

In fact, some experts in South Korea continue to voice concerns, saying that "easing quarantine guidelines at this point is risky." Professor Lee Jae-gap of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital wrote on his Facebook on the 15th, "If social distancing is to be eased, it must be shown that the increasing number of patients can be managed," and warned, "If the number of confirmed cases grows larger, medical institutions will have to start reducing services."

On the 18th, when the number of new confirmed cases approached 110,000 in a single day for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak, the number of confirmed cases was displayed on the monitor in the situation room of Songpa District Office in Seoul. / Photo by Yonhap News

Professor Lee, who served as an advisory member of the COVID-19 Daily Recovery Support Committee, resigned from his position on the 16th. In an interview with MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' on the 18th, he said, "The fact that such (easing) messages have come from the government is actually a big problem," and warned, "If the scale of the Omicron outbreak becomes too large, the number of severe cases will inevitably rise as well. Since the situation at the peak is unpredictable, it has become impossible to forecast how many severe cases there will be."

Meanwhile, the government decided to ease some quarantine guidelines on the same day. The social distancing adjustment plan, effective for about three weeks starting from the 19th, mainly extends the operating hours of restaurants and cafes by one hour, from 9 PM to 10 PM. The limit on private gatherings remains the same at "up to 6 people."

Regarding this, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum held a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters at the Government Seoul Office and explained the reason for partially adjusting the quarantine guidelines, saying, "Considering the deepening difficulties of the people's economy, we judged that minimal adjustments within the capacity of the reorganized quarantine and medical system are inevitable."

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters, as of midnight on the same day, the number of new domestic COVID-19 cases reached 109,832, surpassing 100,000 for the first time. The number of critically ill patients was recorded at 385, down by 4 from 389 the previous day. The number of critically ill patients had remained in the 200s until the end of last month but has recently shifted to a gradual increase, currently standing in the high 300s.

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