"Have They Abandoned Quarantine?" ... Government Lifts Social Distancing Despite Medical Community Opposition

At the Request of Small Business Owners and Self-Employed
Government Accelerates Additional Easing
Experts Warn Against Premature Easing
"Measures Should Be Maintained Until Peak Is Confirmed"

As of midnight on the 16th, 400,741 new COVID-19 cases were reported. On the same day, students at Inheon Middle School in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, lined up to undergo COVID-19 testing at a mobile polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing facility. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

The government’s decision to slightly ease COVID-19 social distancing measures has been met with strong criticism from public health experts. While there is a need to relax social distancing considering the economic hardships faced by self-employed individuals, experts argue that it is premature to do so as the number of new confirmed cases has surpassed 400,000 for the first time, indicating that the spread has not yet slowed. They particularly warn that without proper reinforcement of the healthcare system to prepare for a surge in critically ill patients, a crisis in hospital beds and medical personnel could recur.

Government Steps Back from 'Complete Lift'

The government has consistently stated that social distancing would be significantly eased once the Omicron wave passes its peak. Small business owners and self-employed individuals, who have suffered economic damage over more than two years, have continuously requested easing of restrictions through related organizations. Reflecting this, the current social distancing measures implemented since the 5th, ahead of the presidential election, maintain the limit of six people for private gatherings but extend operating hours for multi-use facilities by one hour until 11 PM.

The health authorities have also recently made changes to the COVID-19 testing, diagnosis, and medical management system in anticipation of easing restrictions. Confirmed cases who are not high-risk are now advised to self-treat at home, contact tracing has been discontinued, and the quarantine obligation for cohabitants of confirmed cases has been lifted. The application of the 'Vaccination Certificate and Negative Test Confirmation System (vaccine pass)' has already been suspended. For confirmed COVID-19 patients, if they are not severely ill, treatment will continue in general hospital beds rather than isolation beds. This is intended to optimize bed usage in preparation for an increase in critically ill patients but fundamentally aims to transition the COVID-19 treatment system to a 'general medical system.'

Despite the daily confirmed cases soaring to 300,000 to 400,000, the health authorities have emphasized the low severity and fatality rates of Omicron, suggesting the possibility of further easing. In a briefing by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) the previous day, it was evaluated that the Omicron fatality rate over the past month was below 0.1%, comparable to the seasonal flu fatality rate (0.05?0.1%). This indicates that despite the exponential increase in confirmed cases, the fatality rate has actually decreased.

Experts: "Easing Should Follow Confirmation of the Peak"

Experts acknowledge that the high number of confirmed cases is partly due to proactive COVID-19 testing in the country but warn against premature easing of restrictions. They argue that lifting measures before the infection peak is reached could mislead the public and worsen the pandemic to an uncontrollable level.

With critically ill patients reaching record highs daily, there are growing concerns that easing restrictions now could increase confirmed and critically ill cases further, potentially leading to a collapse of the healthcare system due to bed shortages. Jeong Ki-seok, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at Hallym University College of Medicine and former Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, expressed concern, stating, "Currently, about 300 COVID-19 deaths occur daily, and this could rise to 500. Considering deaths caused by exacerbation of underlying diseases or delayed treatment due to COVID-19, the situation is very serious." He added, "It is appropriate to maintain current measures at least until the peak of the outbreak is confirmed."

Yeom Ho-gi, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at Seoul Paik Hospital and Chair of the Korean Medical Association’s COVID-19 Countermeasures Committee, emphasized, "Mass infections are spreading in vulnerable groups such as nursing hospitals, resulting in too many deaths, and medical institutions are significantly weakened due to infections among healthcare workers." He strongly demanded, "Easing of restrictions must be stopped immediately." Professor Yeom also argued, "Oral antiviral treatment Paxlovid should be supplied to high-risk groups as quickly as possible, and measures should be established to enable rapid testing, result notification, and treatment to reduce the number of critically ill patients."

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