Temporary Suspension of 'Quarantine Pass' from March 1... Temporary Withdrawal of Youth Quarantine Pass as Well

Temporary Suspension of Gatherings, Meetings, and Events with Over 50 People
Health Centers Also Suspend Issuance of Negative Test Certificates

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] From the 1st of next month, the quarantine pass and the issuance of negative confirmation certificates at public health centers for this purpose will be temporarily suspended.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced on the 28th that this decision was made considering the reorganization of the quarantine and medical system in response to Omicron and the increased workload at public health centers.

With this adjustment, the application of the quarantine pass to all facilities will be temporarily suspended. The quarantine pass currently applied to 11 multi-use facilities such as restaurants and cafes, infection-vulnerable facilities, and gatherings, assemblies, and events with more than 50 people will also be suspended until a separate announcement is made. Additionally, the youth quarantine pass, which was scheduled to be implemented on April 1, will also be suspended.

Regarding this adjustment, the quarantine authorities explained that they considered the consistency with the reorganized quarantine system focused on high-risk groups and voluntary quarantine. From the 1st of next month, cohabitants of confirmed cases will be exempt from quarantine obligations regardless of vaccination status, and the isolation period for confirmed medical personnel can be shortened to 3 days. These points were taken into account to enhance the consistency of quarantine policies.

Along with this, the workload overload at public health centers also influenced the decision. Currently, public health centers, including screening clinics and temporary screening clinics, perform about 250,000 rapid antigen tests daily, of which 55% are for issuing negative confirmation certificates for the quarantine pass. Given the situation where daily confirmed cases have surged to over 170,000, it was judged urgent to concentrate the limited diagnostic testing resources of public health centers on testing high-risk groups such as confirmed cases and their cohabitants.

Also, the quarantine authorities explained that they considered the recent court decisions, such as the suspension of the quarantine pass for those under 60 in Daegu by court order, which caused differences in quarantine pass application by age and region, to resolve imbalances between age groups and regions, minimize difficulties for local small business owners, and reduce confusion on the ground.

Along with the adjustment of the quarantine pass, the issuance of negative confirmation certificates by public health centers will be completely suspended from March 1. From March 1, if a negative confirmation is required for purposes other than the quarantine pass, a negative confirmation opinion must be obtained from private medical institutions. With the suspension of the issuance of negative confirmation certificates by public health centers, administrative resources will be redirected to testing high-risk groups and managing home treatment.

The quarantine authorities stated, "This adjustment is a provisional measure considering the current quarantine situation and policies and may be resumed or adjusted depending on the emergence of new variants and vaccination status." They urged, "Despite the temporary suspension of the quarantine pass, the preventive effect of COVID-19 vaccination against severe illness and death from Omicron infection is clear, so we ask all eligible citizens to continue participating in vaccination."

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