[Inside Chodong] 'Scientific Quarantine' Put to the Test

After the government's announcement of exemption from self-quarantine for overseas arrivals, airline ticket reservations are increasing. The departure hall of Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 is bustling with citizens preparing to travel abroad. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

It has been two months since the government first proposed lifting the mandatory one-week quarantine for COVID-19 positive cases. Earlier, after a four-week 'post-Omicron transition period' in April, the government intended to decide on lifting the quarantine, but after the new administration took office, the measure was extended for a month on May 20, and again on the 17th of this month, the government chose to maintain the quarantine. Although there was consideration to shorten the quarantine period to five days while keeping the obligation, this option was not adopted.

Previously, the Yoon Seok-yeol administration labeled the Moon Jae-in government's quarantine policies as 'failed political quarantine' and emphasized that "from now on, quarantine will be based on science." When announcing the extension of the quarantine obligation this time, the government presented six key and supplementary indicators?number of deaths, fatality rate, epidemic forecasts, excess deaths, variant viruses, and healthcare system response capacity?and stated that the epidemic situation would be periodically reassessed based on these criteria to consider transitioning the quarantine obligation.

However, questions arise as to whether the criteria?'daily deaths averaging 10 to 20 or fewer, weekly deaths 50 to 100 or fewer,' and 'a fatality rate similar to influenza at 0.05 to 0.1%'?truly represent a stable enough situation to no longer require quarantine for COVID-19 positive cases. During the peak of the Omicron spread this spring, daily deaths exceeded 400, so does this imply that about 10 deaths per day are now inevitable? Can this be considered scientifically justified?

Considering the possibility of a resurgence in autumn and winter, some argue that lifting the quarantine obligation based solely on these indicators is not advisable. Many quarantine experts worry that even if the quarantine obligation is maintained, the scale of future outbreaks could increase, and if the obligation is lifted, the number of positive cases will inevitably rise slightly. It is these very experts who repeatedly emphasize that a social atmosphere where people can rest when sick must be established before any medical measures.

The argument that lifting the quarantine obligation is necessary to minimize damage to small business owners and self-employed individuals has also lost its persuasiveness. Due to already relaxed quarantine measures, the economic damage caused by quarantine has virtually disappeared, and now the concern is more about the global inflation and economic downturn leading to a recession rather than COVID-19 quarantine. Setting numerical criteria and claiming scientific quarantine by dividing indicators into met or unmet within these ranges is unreasonable. The quarantine authorities seem aware of this, adding a caveat that "when the numbers are close to the indicators, a comprehensive judgment will be made considering various situations."

Above all, the voices from the medical field, which has been battling COVID-19 for over two years, must be heard. The medical community demands a systematic infectious disease medical response system before discussing the immediate lifting of the legal quarantine obligation. Instead of responding reactively as situations arise, investment in personnel and costs is needed to build a system that can operate systematically under any circumstances. If the quarantine obligation for positive cases is removed immediately, situations will arise where COVID-19 patients and general patients are treated in the same hospital rooms, yet discussions about lifting quarantine are proceeding without measures to address such issues.

As the government has announced, the decision to lift the quarantine obligation for positive cases again in four weeks will be evaluated based on the evidence supporting it, and this will serve as an assessment of the scientific quarantine the new administration has advocated. How the government responds to upcoming challenges such as the fourth round of vaccinations and the autumn COVID-19 resurgence will also be a test of its quarantine capabilities. It is important to remember that how well the public accepts and cooperates with new quarantine measures, and thus how effective they are, is directly linked to trust in the government.

/Jo In-kyung, Deputy Head of Biohealth Department ikjo@

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