Government to Decide This Week on 'Quarantine Obligation Lift'... Public and Expert Opinions Divided

KCDC 'Transition to Self-Quarantine' Awareness Survey
42.7% Support · 54.7% Oppose Tied

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] The government will decide this week whether to lift the quarantine obligation for COVID-19 confirmed cases. While authorities have stated that the decision will be made considering not only the quarantine situation but also the overall circumstances, opinions among experts and the public are clearly divided without a strong consensus either way.

According to the quarantine authorities on the 13th, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on the 17th will decide and announce whether to lift or extend the quarantine obligation. It is known that a task force (TF) consisting of about 5 to 6 infection and preventive medicine experts is currently reviewing the requirements for lifting the quarantine obligation. The newly established "National Infectious Disease Crisis Response Advisory Committee" will not participate in this discussion. Authorities stated, "The advisory committee is currently discussing the composition of related ministries and the committee, as well as the main scope of work," adding, "Once fully operational, it will conduct analysis and policy recommendations on various infectious disease-related topics."

The current quarantine situation is stable. On this day, the number of new COVID-19 confirmed cases was 3,828, marking the lowest figure in 153 days since January 11. For four consecutive days, new confirmed cases have remained below 10,000. The number of critically ill patients hospitalized was 98 the previous day, falling below 100 for the first time in 14 months. The government plans to unify and expand outpatient clinics, which are expected to see increased demand if the quarantine obligation for COVID-19 confirmed cases is lifted, into "Respiratory Patient Care Centers."

Public and expert opinions on lifting or extending the quarantine obligation are evenly split. According to a survey conducted by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on 1,000 adults from the 16th to 17th of last month, 54.7% opposed switching to voluntary quarantine, while 42.7% supported it. The most common reason for concern about switching to voluntary quarantine was "delayed rapid isolation and response in case of new variant emergence," cited by 56.9%. Among those in favor of switching to voluntary quarantine, the majority chose it considering the normalization of social functions through lifting the quarantine obligation (49.1%).

Experts' opinions are also divided. Professor Chun Eun-mi of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Ewha Mokdong Hospital said, "Although the number of confirmed cases continues to decrease, lifting the quarantine obligation for highly infectious patients increases the risk of transmission to colleagues and the public," adding, "During the peak of the outbreak, the quarantine period was shortened because if hundreds of thousands were infected, there would be issues with essential social workers, but now, lifting the obligation does not bring any benefits."

Professor Baek Soon-young, Emeritus Professor at the Catholic University Medical School, said, "Because quarantine is mandatory for confirmed cases, the rate of reluctance to undergo diagnostic testing is inevitably high, so changing the obligation to a recommendation is positive to solve this problem," but added, "There must be social agreements such as paid sick leave at work and school attendance handling when people are ill."

The quarantine authorities maintain that the decision to switch to voluntary quarantine will be made by considering the overall situation rather than a single indicator. KDCA Commissioner Baek Kyung-ran recently said at a press briefing, "If the quarantine obligation is lifted, the outbreak will inevitably increase," adding, "There needs to be a social consensus on how much disease burden our society can bear, and the medical system for high-risk groups must be organized to reduce damage." Commissioner Baek also emphasized, "During the quarantine obligation period, people can rest while isolated, but if it changes to voluntary, the environment will not allow rest, so social systems and culture must support those people to rest and recover at home."

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