Korea set to strengthen quarantine measures this week

An error message appears on Naver's vaccination certificate app, at a restaurant in Seoul, Tuesday, the second day of the mandatory vaccine pass system at multiuse facilities. Yonhap

Vaccine pass system malfunctions for 2nd consecutive day

By Bahk Eun-ji

The government is expected to introduce tougher social distancing rules in the coming days in a desperate bid to curb the unrelenting spread of COVID-19 amid a surge in the number of coronavirus deaths and critically ill patients.

Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for public communication, said in a radio interview Tuesday that a range of options had already been prepared and the administration would choose from among them according to the situation.

"I don't think the government's countermeasures will be delayed or insufficient at this critical time," he said. "We'll review the virus situation on Wednesday and Thursday."

Park's comments seemed to indicate that strengthened quarantine guidelines would be announced Friday.

Despite the health authorities' efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 5,567 new infections for Monday, while critical cases and deaths hit record highs of 906 and 94, respectively. Five more Omicron variant cases were detected as well, raising the total to 119.

Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for public communication, speaks during a press briefing at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, in this June 27 photo. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae

The government eased social distancing rules Nov. 1 in line with its "Living with COVID-19" strategy, but partially toughened them again Dec. 6 as the number of infections began to soar. But they were not as strong as previous measures imposed at the end of last year, despite the numbers of new infections, critically ill patients and deaths being much higher than then.

The situation has caused health experts to call for the re-imposition of strengthened social distancing measures. The Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union held a press conference Monday to call for suspension of the return to normalcy plan, saying it had been implemented without sufficient preparation and was now showing its limits.

In the meantime, the government's enforcement of a vaccine pass system is not working smoothly.

Along with the measures introduced Dec. 6, the government made it mandatory for users of restaurants, cafes and other multiuse facilities to show their vaccination record using the system in an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Following a one-week grace period, the system went into effect officially Monday, but the system did not work properly through Tuesday due to a surge of users especially around lunchtime.

After the confusion Monday, the government hurriedly increased the number of servers it was using.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum apologized for the malfunction Tuesday morning, and ordered relevant ministries to take measures to prevent a recurrence.

"I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused to the people," Kim said in Cabinet meeting at the Government Complex Seoul. "We told the health authorities to stabilize the system as soon as possible and take thorough measures to prevent a recurrence."

But the malfunction continued Tuesday lunchtime on some apps, again causing inconvenience to citizens. The government said it would not impose fines on those who failed to present their vaccine pass or multiuse facility owners who failed to check it due to the system errors over the two days.

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