"No QR Verification Needed"... Suspension of Quarantine Pass Enforcement Starting from the 1st

Lifting of Vaccine Pass Requirement for 11 Types of Multi-Use Facilities Including Restaurants and Cafes
Also Applies to Infection-Vulnerable Facilities and Large-Scale Events and Gatherings
No Quarantine for Unvaccinated Cohabitants... PCR Testing Not Mandatory Either

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] From the 1st, the nationwide implementation of the 'Quarantine Pass' will be suspended. Cohabitants of COVID-19 confirmed cases will no longer need to self-isolate regardless of their vaccination status.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on the 1st, the government suspended the application of the quarantine pass from 0:00 on that day for 11 types of facilities including restaurants and cafes, vulnerable infection facilities, and gatherings, assemblies, and events with 50 or more people. Accordingly, there is no need to verify QR codes or present negative test certificates when entering multi-use facilities or events.

Quarantine Pass Lifted... Health Centers Stop Issuing Negative Test Certificates

The facilities where the quarantine pass has been lifted include ▲entertainment facilities (pubs, karaoke bars, clubs, nightclubs, hunting pubs, emotional pubs, colatecs, dance halls) ▲singing (coin) practice rooms ▲indoor sports facilities ▲bathhouses ▲bicycle racing, motorboat racing, horse racing, casinos ▲restaurants and cafes ▲multi-rooms ▲PC rooms ▲indoor sports stadiums ▲party rooms ▲massage parlors and massage shops, totaling 11 types of multi-use facilities.

Also, the quarantine pass applied during visits to patients or residents in ▲medical institutions ▲nursing facilities and hospitals ▲facilities for severely disabled and dementia patients ▲senior centers and welfare centers for the elderly, which are vulnerable infection facilities, will be suspended. The quarantine pass applied to large-scale events and assemblies with 50 or more people will also be lifted. However, social distancing measures applied to large-scale events and assemblies will remain in place, limiting the maximum number of participants to 299 regardless of vaccination status.

From this day, health centers will no longer issue negative test certificates. If a negative test certificate is needed for purposes other than the quarantine pass, it must be obtained from private medical institutions. The quarantine pass for adolescents, which was scheduled to be implemented on April 1, has also been temporarily withdrawn.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Unvaccinated Cohabitants Also Not Required to Isolate... PCR Tests Not Mandatory

From this day, the quarantine guidelines for close contacts have also changed, and cohabitants of confirmed cases will be subject to passive monitoring regardless of vaccination status. Unvaccinated cohabitants no longer need to isolate for 7 days, and the two mandatory PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests that were required immediately after classification as cohabitants and before release from isolation have been removed. Instead, one PCR test within 3 days and a rapid antigen test on the 7th day are recommended. Rapid antigen tests are recognized not only when conducted by medical personnel but also when self-administered using self-diagnosis kits.

However, the government has requested voluntary compliance with these recommendations even though they are not mandatory. Cohabitants are asked to follow appropriate testing within 10 days from the confirmed case’s test date, stay at home for 3 days, refrain from going out during the subsequent period, and always wear a KF94 mask when going out.

The revised guidelines will be applied retroactively to those currently managed under the existing guidelines from this day. However, in the case of schools, the revised guidelines will be applied from March 14, after the new semester adjustment period, to support normal attendance under thorough quarantine measures at the beginning of the semester.

The government explained that these guideline changes are a reorganization of the quarantine and medical system in response to Omicron. The quarantine system has been reorganized to focus on high-risk groups and voluntary quarantine amid a situation where 170,000 new confirmed cases are occurring daily.

However, there is criticism that the easing of quarantine measures was rushed before the Omicron peak has even arrived. According to aggregated projections from domestic and international researchers conducted on the 23rd and 24th, daily confirmed cases are expected to exceed 230,000 on the 9th, and the number of critically ill patients hospitalized is expected to exceed 1,200. The peak of the outbreak is also predicted to occur from early to mid-March, with various possibilities ranging from a daily maximum of 180,000 to 350,000 cases.

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