Easing of distancing measures ahead of election raises speculation on timing

A monitor at the disaster control center in Seoul's Songpa District Office shows an all-time high of 266,853 new daily COVID-19 infections reported on Thursday. Yonhap

Daily new infections hit another high at 266,853

By Lee Hyo-jin

The government's decision to ease COVID-19 regulations earlier than initially planned despite a record surge in coronavirus infections is calling the policy change into question.

As the abrupt readjustment of the social distancing measures came less than a week ahead of the March 9 presidential election, some critics claim the government is compromising public health and safety for its own "political ends," and pandering to small business owners who have had to bear the brunt of the pandemic measures.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced Friday that it will ease social distancing measures partially from Saturday to March 20, allowing multiuse facilities such as eateries and cafes to receive sit-in customers until 11 p.m., pushing the limit on operating hours back by one hour from the current 10 p.m. The six-person limit on private gatherings will remain in place.

The adjustment on the distancing rules came earlier than planned, as the current measures were scheduled previously to end on March 13, after the presidential election.

The health ministry overturned its previous announcement on Feb. 18 that quarantine rules would not be eased further until the Omicron variant's spread passes its peak in the country, which it expects to come in mid-March.

The timing of the government's easing of the distancing measures, which came on the first day of early voting, has raised speculation over "political calculations," rather than putting public health and safety first.

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Some speculated that the softening of measures, along with the decision made on Tuesday to lift the vaccine pass, amounted to an attempt to gain support from self-employed individuals who have been suffering losses due to the pandemic-induced measures.

But the health ministry denied the allegations during a COVID-19 response briefing, Friday.

"We made the decision (on the adjustment of the social distancing measures) after careful deliberation, taking into consideration both the epidemiological situation and people's livelihoods," senior health official Lee Ki-il said, when asked whether public opinion ahead of the presidential election was taken into consideration in making the decision.

People wait in line for COVID-19 testing at a screening site in Seoul's Songpa District, Friday. Yonhap

Lee added that the ministry is aware of health experts' concerns over the relaxation of virus restrictions, but said the decision was "inevitable considering the difficulties of small business owners."

In recent weeks, the authorities have been relaxing antivirus restrictions, citing the lower fatality rate of Omicron infections.

Although the numbers of daily new infections have been soaring to record highs with no end in sight, the authorities view that key indicators such as fatality rate and the number of critical cases remain manageable within the country's medical response capacity.

The country added 266,853 new infections for Thursday, hitting yet another all-time high, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA.) It was the second time the country's daily caseload had surpassed 200,000, after 219,241 infections were reported on Tuesday.

Unlike the KDCA's prediction that daily infections would reach a peak of about 250,000 in mid-March, the country has already exceeded the figure.

The number of COVID-19 deaths also soared to a record-high 186, breaking the record of 128 set the previous day. The total number of critical patients stood at 797, up from 766 the day before.

"Now is not the right time to lift any virus restrictions. Following the hundreds of thousands of new infections, critical cases and deaths will continue to surge. In order to minimize fatalities, the government should wait at least until the current wave reaches its peak before making further decisions," said Choi Jae-wook, a professor of preventive medicine at Korea University.

Meanwhile, according to World Health Organization data, the aggregate number of infections in Korea in the last seven days has soared to 1,192,301 ― the highest in the world ― followed by 1,076,028 in Germany and 757,282 in Russia.

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