Gov't mulls lowering infectious disease level of COVID-19

A medical worker collects a sample from a visitor at a COVID-19 screening center near Seoul Station, Friday. Yonhap

Limit on private gatherings eased to eight

By Lee Hyo-jin

The government is reviewing whether to lower the infectious disease level of COVID-19, two years after the coronavirus was designated at "Level 1," the highest level in its four-tier system, public health authorities said Friday.

While the health authorities say downgrading the level would enable the more effective use of medical resources, medical experts view the move as premature, given that the country is currently at its worst point yet in the pandemic.

The number of daily new COVID-19 infections for Thursday stood at 407,017, with 301 deaths and 1,049 patients in critical condition, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

The country has added more than 1.4 million new cases in just the last three days, the highest ever here in such a short span of time.

According to World Health Organization data, as of March 16, the aggregate number of infections in Korea over the last seven days has soared to 2,100,171 ― the highest in the world ― followed by 1,670,627 in Vietnam and 1,350,362 in Germany.

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Despite the soaring infections, the health ministry announced Friday that it will ease social distancing measures partially from Monday to April 3, allowing private gatherings of up to eight people, up from the current six. The limits on operating hours for multiuse facilities such as eateries, cafes and gyms will be maintained at 11 p.m.

In addition, the government is considering lowering the infectious disease level of COVID-19, which has so far been labeled "Level 1," the highest in the four-tier system, citing Omicron's low fatality rate.

Currently, along with COVID-19, Ebola, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), the H1N1 flu and smallpox are categorized as Level 1 infectious diseases.

Active cases of these diseases must be immediately reported to the public health authorities, while infected patients must be isolated in designated environments such as negative pressure rooms. Testing and treatment expenses are covered by the government.

A medical clinic in Seoul is crowded with visitors waiting to receive rapid antigen tests, Friday. Yonhap

"As the overall threat of Omicron is decreasing, a readjustment of the (infectious disease) level should be discussed in the long term," said health ministry spokesman Son Young-rae during a briefing.

If COVID-19 is reclassified to a lower level, patients may not be subject to mandatory self-isolation. Active cases are also not required to be reported immediately, but only within 24 hours from detection. Furthermore, the costs of treatment may not be covered by Korea's national health insurance.

Since the current system was adopted in 2020, no disease categorized in the highest level has ever been downgraded.

"I don't understand why the government has chosen to put such issues under consideration at this point of time when the country is going through the world's worst virus situation. The current wave hasn't even reached its peak yet," said Jacob Lee, an infectious disease specialist at Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital.

Meanwhile, the BA.2 subvariant of the Omicron variant, also known as "stealth Omicron," has been increasing its presence in Korea, prompting concerns that it may replace the currently dominant subvariant BA.1.

Subvariant BA.2 is so far known to be about 30 percent more contagious than BA.1. According to KDCA data, it accounted for 26.3 percent of infections reported last week, up from 17.3 percent the previous week.

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