New response is inevitable, but insufficient
On Monday, the Moon Jae-in administration announced its measures against the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. The new guidelines call for easing monitoring and quarantine rules for low-risk patients. Such measures are inevitable as health authorities can no longer maintain a tight quarantine network in the face of an explosive spike in new infections.
The changed response is focused on monitoring and treating high-risk patients, including those aged 60 and older as well those in their 50s with underlying diseases. This means that it is now impossible for the country to maintain its so-called K-quarantine system for testing, tracing and treating all patients. The country's medical capacity is increasingly reaching its limit as Omicron has emerged as the dominant COVID-19 variant.
The number of daily new infections stayed over 35,000 for the fourth straight day, Tuesday. The speed of its spread is stunning as the number surpassed 30,000 Saturday, three days after hitting the 20,000 level. The government already replaced polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests with rapid antigen self-tests, other than for the elderly and other high-risk groups, Feb. 3.
Under this situation, the authorities have no other choice but to ease the measures against the pandemic. It is important to utilize the already-strained medical system to take better care of critically ill COVID-19 patients. Fortunately, Omicron is about one-third as likely to develop into severe cases compared to Delta, even though it is twice as contagious as the latter. So patients with light symptoms do not necessarily undergo strict quarantine.
That is why the health authorities have decided to let low-risk patients monitor their condition by themselves and contact a local hospital in case their symptoms get worse. Putting the top priority on high-risk groups is a step in the right direction as the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) predicts the number of daily new cases to reach 130,000 or even 170,000 by the end of this month.
Nevertheless, it is still questionable if the country can bring the resurgent pandemic under control with the new measures. The government's plan to provide at-home treatment for COVID-19 patients appears to be a stopgap measure. At-home care patients surged by 12,724 Tuesday from the previous day to 159,169. It is only a matter of time before the figure exceeds the maximum capacity of accommodating 163,000 patients.
It is urgent to encourage more neighborhood hospitals and clinics to participate in testing and treatment of the skyrocketing number of patients. It is also crucial to increase hospital beds at intensive care units to take care of more critically ill patients. If daily new cases continue to surge, the number of such patients will inevitably rise to an unmanageable level. Most of all, the authorities need to work out a contingency plan to prevent the looming collapse of the healthcare system.
On Monday, the Moon Jae-in administration announced its measures against the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. The new guidelines call for easing monitoring and quarantine rules for low-risk patients. Such measures are inevitable as health authorities can no longer maintain a tight quarantine network in the face of an explosive spike in new infections.
The changed response is focused on monitoring and treating high-risk patients, including those aged 60 and older as well those in their 50s with underlying diseases. This means that it is now impossible for the country to maintain its so-called K-quarantine system for testing, tracing and treating all patients. The country's medical capacity is increasingly reaching its limit as Omicron has emerged as the dominant COVID-19 variant.
The number of daily new infections stayed over 35,000 for the fourth straight day, Tuesday. The speed of its spread is stunning as the number surpassed 30,000 Saturday, three days after hitting the 20,000 level. The government already replaced polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests with rapid antigen self-tests, other than for the elderly and other high-risk groups, Feb. 3.
Under this situation, the authorities have no other choice but to ease the measures against the pandemic. It is important to utilize the already-strained medical system to take better care of critically ill COVID-19 patients. Fortunately, Omicron is about one-third as likely to develop into severe cases compared to Delta, even though it is twice as contagious as the latter. So patients with light symptoms do not necessarily undergo strict quarantine.
That is why the health authorities have decided to let low-risk patients monitor their condition by themselves and contact a local hospital in case their symptoms get worse. Putting the top priority on high-risk groups is a step in the right direction as the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) predicts the number of daily new cases to reach 130,000 or even 170,000 by the end of this month.
Nevertheless, it is still questionable if the country can bring the resurgent pandemic under control with the new measures. The government's plan to provide at-home treatment for COVID-19 patients appears to be a stopgap measure. At-home care patients surged by 12,724 Tuesday from the previous day to 159,169. It is only a matter of time before the figure exceeds the maximum capacity of accommodating 163,000 patients.
It is urgent to encourage more neighborhood hospitals and clinics to participate in testing and treatment of the skyrocketing number of patients. It is also crucial to increase hospital beds at intensive care units to take care of more critically ill patients. If daily new cases continue to surge, the number of such patients will inevitably rise to an unmanageable level. Most of all, the authorities need to work out a contingency plan to prevent the looming collapse of the healthcare system.
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