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| Medical workers check COVID-19 self-test kits at a public health center in Anseong, 77 kilometers south of Seoul, Wednesday, a day before the introduction of new quarantine rules, under which polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests will be available only to those in high-risk groups, including people aged over 60, residing in four Omicron variant-dominated areas ― Gwangju, South Jeolla Province and the Gyeonggi Province cities of Pyeongtaek and Anseong. Yonhap |
By Bahk Eun-ji
The government's frequently changing quarantine guidelines are prompting confusion, while health authorities have implemented a new medical response system to cope with the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
Starting Wednesday, it changed the criteria and rules for those who have are considered fully vaccinated, and those who have had close contact with confirmed patients.
The vaccine pass is available only to those who have received their booster shot and those who had their second dose more than 14 days earlier but less than 180 days earlier. But people who had close contact with a confirmed patient will be exempt from self-quarantine only if they received a booster shot or had their second vaccine shot less than 90 days earlier.
The guidelines cut the stay-at-home period for vaccinated patients down to seven days but unvaccinated people must self-quarantine for 10 days.
The government has unveiled such guidelines in order to keep the highly transmissible Omicron in check, but critics say it is only causing confusion with the frequent changes and inconsistencies.
As the daily caseloads skyrocketed over the past week, the government also changed the criteria for determining close contact with a patient to "being in contact for at least 15 minutes from a distance of less than 2 meters without wearing a mask."
If a person comes into contact with a confirmed patient while not wearing a mask, they will be classified as a person who was in close contact. A self-quarantine exemption is now granted in this case to those who received the booster shot or their second vaccination dose less than 90 days prior.
Health authorities have already changed the guidelines twice this week. In the case of the second inoculation, the period of valid vaccination was changed from within 180 days of inoculation to 90 days, and in the case of booster shots, it went from 14 days after inoculation to immediately after inoculation.
People complain online about the inconveniences caused by the government's frequent policy changes.
"I suddenly became an unvaccinated person because I received the second dose at the end of September, although I knew the vaccine pass is valid for up to six months," an online user wrote.
Another also wrote, "I'm confused because the vaccine pass and self-quarantine standards are different."
Kim Woo-joo, a professor of infectious disease at Korea University Guro Hospital, also said this has been a problem at medical facilities. "Even medical workers are also confused by the government's frequent policy changes," he said.
"We had about two months to respond to the highly transmissible variant, but the government doesn't seem to be properly prepared. It had initially planned to adopt the new rules once the number of daily infections was over 7,000, but it was changed to 7,000 per week."
Regarding the shortened period for vaccination validity, Kim said, "It seems a strategy to increase the booster shot rate, but the government should offer clear incentives for vaccination or give transparent information about possible side effects, rather than pressuring people like this."
