Gov't warns daily cases may soar to 30,000 in early February

People wait in line for diagnostic tests at a COVID-19 testing station in Songpa District, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

Gov't to phase in new response measures Wednesday to curb Omicron

By Bahk Eun-ji

The number of Korea's daily new coronavirus infections could increase to as many as 30,000 by early next month, given the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, which has become the dominant strain in the country, health authorities warned, Tuesday.

The warning came after the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported that Korea added a record-high 8,571 new cases on Tuesday, including 8,356 locally transmitted.

The daily caseload skyrocketed over the past week, from 5,805 on Jan. 18 to 7,513 reported Monday. The detection rate of Omicron reached 50.3 percent between Jan. 16 and 23.

"Due to the high transmissibility of Omicron, which spreads two to three times faster than Delta, an increase in daily infections is inevitable, and we think it will be possible to reach 20,000 to 30,000 per day or even more by early next month," health ministry official Son Young-rae said on a radio show on Tuesday.

To keep the highly transmissible variant in check, the government decided to initiate its shift to a new medical response focusing on early diagnosis and treatment of high-risk groups, starting today.

Under the new system, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests will be carried out only for those in high-risk groups such as the elderly aged 60 or older, and those who have had close contact with confirmed patients.

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Low-risk groups showing suspected symptoms will only undergo PCR tests when they test positive through rapid antigen tests or self-test kits.

The government plans to implement this system first in four local jurisdictions ― South Jeolla Province, Gwangju and the Gyeonggi Province cities of Pyeongtaek and Anseong ― where Omicron has spread widely.

Starting today, the self-quarantine period will also be shortened in all regions across the country.

If a confirmed patient has received the second vaccination shot within the last 90 days, or a booster shot within the last 14 days, they only need to be under self-quarantine for seven days, from the current 10 days.

Despite the rapid increase in new infections, the current social distancing rules will not be strengthened, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Regarding the possibility of strengthening the distancing rules if the daily caseloads surpass 20,000, Son said during a press briefing on Monday, "It is difficult to answer for sure because there is not enough domestic data, but we believe we will be able to handle a much larger number of patients if we can find and treat patients in the high-risk group."

He added, "It is better not to strengthen social distancing measures."

However, experts emphasized the need for strengthened measures in line with the situation in which Omicron has become the dominant strain.

"No matter how many hospital beds the government has prepared, it is difficult for our medical system to respond adequately if the number of patients increase suddenly in a short period of time," said Kim Woo-joo, a professor of the infectious diseases department at Korea University Guro Hospital.

"The priority is to adjust the country's quarantine measures so that the daily infection numbers do not exceed 30,000, and in case the number of infections skyrockets, the government should prevent the medical system from getting overloaded by strengthening social distancing measures."

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