‘40,000 Confirmed Cases’ Amid Hospital Mask Mandate Lift... Big 5 Hospitals Express ‘Concerns’

Mask-Wearing Recommendations to Shift Next Month in Hospitals
Mid-Summer Surge in COVID-19, Flu, and Colds
"Some Say It's Premature"

Health authorities will implement eased quarantine measures in early to mid-next month, changing the mandatory mask-wearing requirement in facilities such as hospitals to a recommendation. Hospitals, facing the reality of a 'multi-demic' (simultaneous outbreaks of multiple infectious diseases) in the middle of summer, are currently deliberating whether to establish additional quarantine guidelines, including maintaining mask-wearing for the time being.

Mandatory Mask Wearing in Hospitals

According to the medical community on the 26th, Seoul Asan Medical Center, one of the country's 'Big 5 hospitals,' plans to follow the health authorities' guidelines but will maintain the mask-wearing mandate in high-risk facilities. Seoul Samsung Medical Center intends to keep the mask mandate for about 1 to 2 weeks after the recommendation is issued. Seoul National University Hospital, Sinchon Severance Hospital, and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital are discussing various additional quarantine measures. A hospital official stated, "Because of the large number of beds and the concentration of critically ill patients with weakened immunity nationwide, it is true that if the mask mandate, which has been maintained for over three years, is suddenly lifted, there is a significant concern about a surge in infections."

The reason hospitals are worried about lifting the mask mandate is due to the alarming trend in respiratory infectious diseases such as COVID-19. From the 18th to the 24th, the average daily number of confirmed COVID-19 cases was 38,809, a 38.8% increase compared to the previous week (27,955 cases). On the 19th, there were as many as 47,029 confirmed cases in a single day. This is the highest number of confirmed cases in about six months since January 11th (54,315 cases), which was in the middle of winter. The COVID-19 outbreak, which should be declining in summer, is continuing at a level similar to winter.

Influenza (flu), common cold, and other respiratory infectious diseases are also spreading. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, in the 28th week of this year (July 9?15), the number of suspected flu patients was 16.9 per 1,000 outpatient visits at clinics. This is more than three times the flu outbreak threshold of 4.9. Typically, flu outbreaks decrease by the end of June as summer begins, but this year, an increasing trend was observed. The flu outbreak advisory issued on September 16th last year is still in effect.

Professor Eom Jung-sik of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Gachon University Gil Medical Center said, "It is the first time we have seen the flu spreading into the summer," diagnosing that "the lack of natural immunity due to mask-wearing for three years during COVID-19, a decrease in artificial immunity due to lower vaccination rates, and the holiday season have likely acted in combination." The number of patients infected with rhinovirus and adenovirus, which cause colds with symptoms like coughing and runny nose, as well as those infected with parainfluenza virus causing pneumonia, is also increasing.

Some experts have pointed out that lifting the mask mandate in hospitals and infection-vulnerable facilities, where many high-risk groups are present, is premature amid the spread of multiple respiratory infectious diseases including COVID-19. Although the recent fatality rate of COVID-19 has dropped to 0.03%, the cumulative fatality rate for those aged 80 and above is 1.84%, and for those in their 70s, it is 0.43%, which are relatively high levels. Among the 43 COVID-19 deaths from the 9th to the 15th, 32 (74.4%) occurred in people aged 70 and older.

Professor Lee Jae-gap of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital said, "Medical institutions and infection-vulnerable facilities cannot return to the pre-COVID-19 state. We have never seen viruses that spread and cause outbreaks indoors in this way," adding, "It is difficult to manage COVID-19 like the flu in medical institutions and similar settings." Professor Eom emphasized, "In spaces such as hospitals where many high-risk groups gather, it is necessary to keep mask-wearing mandatory for the time being until respiratory infectious diseases subside."

Health authorities currently do not plan to reverse the scheduled easing of quarantine measures. However, a Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency official stated, "Even if the mask-wearing mandate in facilities such as hospitals is changed to a recommendation, individual hospitals can establish separate quarantine guidelines and require patients and visitors to wear masks." The official also added, "We ask that when visiting facilities with a high likelihood of COVID-19 patients or high-risk groups, please comply with the quarantine guidelines presented by those facilities."

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