"South Korea, Once Strictest on Quarantine, Now Indifferent: Foreign Media Also Focus on 'Surge in Confirmed Cases'"

NYT "Korea Shows Collective Indifference Despite Soaring COVID-19 Cases"

On the 18th, when the COVID-19 variant outbreak entered its peak phase, medical staff at the temporary screening clinic in Seoul Plaza closely monitored the rapid antigen test kit results of a test subject. On that day, 407,017 new confirmed cases were reported, bringing the total to 8,657,609. There were also 301 deaths recorded in a single day. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] The US media outlet 'The New York Times' (NYT) recently focused on South Korea's infectious disease outbreak situation, where daily COVID-19 cases exceeded 600,000. The NYT described South Korea as "a country that once implemented some of the strictest quarantine policies," but despite currently recording the highest daily case count worldwide, it is responding with "shrugging indifference."

On the 17th (local time), the NYT published an article titled "South Korea's soaring COVID-19 cases meet collective indifference," reporting this situation.

The outlet explained, "In a country of 50 million people, more than 620,000 cases were reported in a single day," adding, "The outbreak triggered by the Omicron variant far surpasses all previous COVID-19 waves South Korea has experienced."

The NYT reported that although South Korea is experiencing an unprecedented surge in cases, the government is responding by easing quarantine guidelines and border policies. This marks a stark contrast to the previously strict measures such as mandatory mask-wearing, testing, tracing, and isolation.

Regarding this, the NYT stated, "The South Korean government promoted its quarantine policies as the 'K-quarantine model,' but now it seems the government is distancing itself from strict quarantine measures."

On the 16th, citizens were waiting for COVID testing at an otolaryngology clinic in downtown Seoul. / Photo by Yonhap News

The reason behind this policy shift appears to be the accumulated fatigue from the high-intensity quarantine measures implemented so far. Jang Youngwook from the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy told the NYT, "Citizens no longer have patience left," and analyzed, "The government somewhat exaggerated the risks of the infectious disease to gain citizens' cooperation, but cooperation is also a kind of resource. It seems that resource is gradually depleting."

In fact, the government decided on the 18th to further ease some quarantine guidelines. At the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting that morning, Health and Welfare Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said, "Considering the Omicron pandemic, the burden on the medical response system, and the uncertainty in predicting the peak of the outbreak, there are significant concerns about drastically easing social distancing," and announced, "The limit on private gatherings will be adjusted from six to eight people."

This measure will be applied for two weeks from the 21st to the 3rd of next month. Multi-use facilities such as restaurants and cafes can operate until 11 p.m. as before, but the limit on private gatherings will be relaxed to eight people.

Recent daily case numbers have significantly exceeded the government's previous expectations. According to health authorities, as of midnight on the 17th, new cases reached 621,328, marking an all-time high. Although the number dropped sharply to 407,017 on the 18th, it still remained above 400,000.

Initially, the government predicted that the weekly average daily cases would peak at around 310,000 to 370,000 around the 23rd, then begin to decline. However, the average daily cases over the past week (12th to 18th) have been about 405,000, already surpassing government forecasts.

On the 17th, paramedics and medical staff at Seoul Medical Center in Jungnang-gu, Seoul, are transferring a patient who arrived at the hospital to the infectious disease specialized ward. / Photo by Yonhap News

Some in the medical community argue that the government may have 'underestimated' the severity of the COVID-19 infection trend and are calling for a halt to further easing of quarantine measures.

The Korean Medical Association's COVID-19 Countermeasure Committee issued a press release on the 18th stating, "The transfer of COVID-19 patients to medical institutions for appropriate treatment has virtually stopped," and warned, "There is a high possibility of mass deaths. We strongly urge the suspension of quarantine easing."

They added, "The government is easing quarantine measures solely because of the high vaccination rate and the low fatality rate of Omicron, but the rapid increase in deaths is outpacing the decrease in fatality rate due to the surge in COVID-19 cases. It is risky to draw conclusions based only on the number of deaths announced by the government."

They further cautioned, "Even with the current death toll, South Korea has one of the highest per capita death rates worldwide, but this does not include those who died after being released from the shortened isolation period," and warned, "Deaths due to worsening underlying conditions after Omicron infection are also increasing, so the currently reported death toll may actually be underestimated."

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