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| A medical worker administers a COVID-19 test to a visitor at a screening center near Seoul Station, Sunday. Yonhap |
Lifting of COVID-19 measures premature: experts
By Lee Hyo-jin
The government's quarantine scheme shift targeting the Omicron variant has led to rising calls to ease social distancing measures and the vaccine pass system, among people who view these antivirus regulations as ineffective in curbing the unrelenting spread of the virus.
Amid surging Omicron cases, the government recently introduced new virus management strategies to focus on high-risk groups, rather than putting equal resources into all confirmed infection cases.
Since Feb. 10, the authorities have scrapped the GPS-based monitoring of people in self-isolation after testing positive or being in close contact with an infected case.
COVID-19 patients undergoing home treatment no longer need to report to public health officials when they go out to visit hospitals, while their cohabiting family members are allowed to leave the house freely to buy medicine and daily necessities.
The government has also replaced its rigorous epidemiological investigations with what it calls, "self-contact tracing."
Public officials are no longer contacting people who tested positive to conduct an epidemiological investigation. Instead, patients must fill out a questionnaire on their mobile phones about where they've been and with whom they have come in contact.
The new quarantine scheme, which largely depends on individual responsibility to control the spread of infections, have prompted calls to ease COVID-19 restrictions that some see as limiting individual freedoms.
Under the current social distancing regulations, cafes and eateries cannot receive sit-in customers after 9 p.m., while private gatherings of more than six people are banned. Also, the vaccine pass implemented on multiuse facilities bans unvaccinated people from entering them unless they provide a negative PCR test taken within the last 48 hours.
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum on Friday hinted at a possible relaxation of the antivirus measures, even before the current ones are scheduled to end on Feb. 20.
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| A coronavirus testing center in Songpa District of Seoul is crowded with people waiting to receive a test, Sunday. Newsis |
"Once we determine that the number of critical cases and deaths can be maintained under control and that the virus situation can be stably managed, we will make a 'courageous move' at any time," he said during a COVID-19 response meeting.
The "courageous move" here refers to adjusting the social distancing measures, according to senior health official Lee Ki-il.
"If the newly launched Omicron response measures are stabilized, we will comprehensively review the virus situation and make further decisions (on the distancing measures), although there is still a week left until the current measures are to end," Lee said at a briefing held later in the day.
The remarks from health authorities come as the country is seeing relatively less critical cases and deaths, despite record-high numbers of infections fueled by the Omicron variant.
The country added 56,431 new infections for Saturday, hitting yet another record high. But the total current number of critical cases stood at 288. The figure has been hovering at around 300, far less than the approximately 1,000 critical cases reported during the Delta variant-led wave.
Experts, however, called for a cautious review of the easing of the antivirus measures.
"It would be a reckless move, not a courageous move, to lift the distancing measures at this point of time," said Kim Woo-joo, an infectious disease professor at Korea University Guro Hospital.
Kim also expressed concerns over the government's recent messages downplaying the threat of the Omicron variant, saying, "Such an approach will make people less willing to receive booster shots."
Members of the most vulnerable groups, such as immunocompromised people and residents of nursing homes, will soon be asked to roll up their sleeves for a fourth shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The government will unveil on Monday detailed plans regarding when and who will be eligible for the fourth shot.
Meanwhile, the government is going all-out to prevent a shortage of self-testing kits.
Starting Sunday, individuals can buy up to five test kits per purchase for the next three weeks. The products are available only through in-person purchases at pharmacies or convenience stores, as online sales are banned.
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