Health Authorities: "Monkeypox Confirmed Cases Will Be Treated in Isolation Wards" (Update)

KDCA, "Reviewing the Necessity of Contact Quarantine"

On the 27th, passengers arriving on a flight from Europe at Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 are waiting to undergo quarantine for overseas infectious diseases such as monkeypox. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

If a monkeypox case is confirmed domestically, the patient will be treated in a separate isolation ward.

Ko Jae-young, spokesperson for the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), stated at a press briefing on the 2nd, "Confirmed monkeypox patients will initially be treated in hospital isolation wards."

KDCA is in the process of revising the notification to designate monkeypox as a second-class legal infectious disease. The notification is expected to be issued on the 8th.

Second-class infectious diseases require isolation due to their potential for transmission. Currently, 22 diseases including COVID-19, tuberculosis, and chickenpox are designated as such. Medical institutions must report confirmed cases to health authorities within 24 hours.

Spokesperson Ko said, "Confirmed patients will be isolated and treated, and the necessity of isolating contacts is under review," adding, "We will continuously assess the risk level of monkeypox to determine the need and extent of isolation."

Monkeypox, known as an endemic disease in Central and West Africa, was first reported in the UK on the 7th, and has since spread to Europe, North America, the Middle East, Australia, and other countries worldwide. Although no confirmed or suspected cases have been reported in Korea yet, KDCA held a risk assessment meeting on the 31st of last month and issued a 'concern' level infectious disease crisis alert for monkeypox, considering the possibility of its domestic introduction.

Spokesperson Ko urged, "Citizens should contact the KDCA call center if they have suspicious symptoms and inform medical staff when seeking treatment," and added, "Medical personnel should wear appropriate protective equipment during treatment and contact KDCA." He emphasized, "At this stage, the risk of monkeypox to the general public is assessed as 'low,' and simply washing hands, as learned from COVID-19, can reduce the risk of monkeypox."

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