"Could I Really Be a Reinfected Case?"... Complacent Quarantine Awareness... Anxiety Among 'Never Covid' Group

"Had COVID before, so it's okay"
"Prevent risk of reinfection... Follow basic quarantine rules"

On the 21st, citizens are waiting for testing at the COVID-19 screening clinic at Dongdaemun-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Culture Young Intern Reporter] "Could it really be reinfection?" , "I’m fine since I’ve already had it once."

Among people who have had COVID-19 once, there is a careless awareness of quarantine, such as believing reinfection is impossible or not self-testing despite symptoms, causing increased anxiety among the uninfected.

◆ Increase in 'Reinfection' Cases Due to COVID-19 Resurgence

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) on the 28th, as of 0:00 on the 17th, the cumulative number of suspected reinfection cases is 86,092. Among them, 119 cases involved a person infected three times. COVID-19 reinfection is recognized if a positive result is confirmed by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test or professional rapid antigen test (RAT) at least 45 days after the initial confirmed infection, regardless of symptoms.

During the second week of July (10th?16th), the proportion of suspected reinfection cases among new confirmed cases was 3.72%. This was only 0.59% in the first week of May but increased continuously to 1.22% in the first week of June, 2.94% in the fourth week of June, and is currently approaching 4%. Notably, one in three reinfected individuals is a child or adolescent aged 17 or younger.

The causes of the resurgence include the spread of the highly contagious Omicron subvariant BA.5, waning immunity, and increased indoor face-to-face activities following the lifting of social distancing measures. As new variants evade immunity formed by existing vaccines and many people enjoy indoor and outdoor activities after social distancing was lifted, reinfection cases are rising. Experts believe the actual numbers are higher considering intentional avoidance of testing or lack of screening clinics.

According to the COVID-19 'Reinfection' fact check published by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) in March, "Super immunity is not a scientific term, and although people infected with COVID-19 generally have relatively higher immunity to the virus compared to those never infected, reinfection remains possible."

Due to the resurgence of COVID-19, visits by citizens seeking PCR tests at screening clinics have continued since the 25th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

◆ Going Around While Reinfected... Need for 'Awareness'

Immunity of people infected during the Omicron variant wave earlier this year is expected to weaken further, so suspected reinfection cases are likely to increase more steeply.

There are increasing reports of people who have been reinfected with COVID-19 but have not properly tested or received treatment and continue to go out. They believe they have antibodies since they were infected once and do not get tested even if symptoms appear.

A person in their 20s, Mr. A, said, "I didn’t even know I was reinfected and went around." He added, "My throat hurt, but since I had it in March, I didn’t think I would get it again."

Because of such reinfected COVID-19 cases, the 'Never COVID' group?those who have never been infected?are trembling with anxiety.

Among them, there are reactions like, "It’s true that social distancing has been eased, but we must strictly follow quarantine rules during vacations and various festivals," and "Having endured without getting COVID-19 for over two years, it would be very unfair to get infected because of some people."

A college student in their 20s said, "I have to attend school classes, but it’s confusing because classes are frequently canceled or switched to online," and "Some friends who lost part-time jobs after testing positive hide their reinfection."

Professor Kim Woo-joo of the Infectious Diseases Department at Korea University Guro Hospital said, "People vaccinated between February and April think, ‘I got infected once, so I must have super immunity,’ but immune evasion has occurred with new variant viruses." He added, "The government’s lack of active testing recommendations has also lowered vigilance."

The KDCA urged, "Symptoms and recovery from COVID-19 reinfection vary depending on the characteristics of the variant virus and individual immunity," and "Basic quarantine rules must be followed to prevent reinfection risk."

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