While accepting the existence of the coronavirus as a reality, under such a premise, the so-called 'with Corona' discussion is in full swing to restore the former daily life step by step.
Coexistence with 'with corona' Corona?
Although the expression is being used without being strictly defined what exactly it means, the government, which has focused on controlling the number of confirmed cases, has recently started to refer to a policy shift toward going "with Corona".
If the vaccination rate is high and the increase in confirmed cases is managed successfully even after the Chuseok holiday, it suggests that policies can be changed before winter arrives.
Although he did not use the expression 'with Corona', it should be noted that the President spoke of a "gradual transition to a new quarantine system."
Jung Eun-kyung, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, went one step further and mentioned a specific time point.
On the 7th day when Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyung's remarks were made, the health authorities released a poll saying that a majority of the people wanted to change the policy to 'with Corona'.
The government has also eased social distancing a bit as vaccination rates have risen.
The current social distancing has been extended until the 3rd of next month, but restaurant business hours will be extended by 1 hour until 10 pm, and the number of gatherings has been expanded to 6-8 people, mainly those who have completed vaccinations.
It seems to be a move to prepare for the transition to 'with Corona' by gradually expanding the scope of daily life while maintaining the distance.
Click ▶ 'With Corona', a step-by-step recovery of daily life
Sohn Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Accident Resolving Headquarters, said at a briefing on Corona 19 on the 6th, "The government is trying to avoid using the term 'with Corona' as much as possible. because," he said.
"In particular, the term 'with Corona' itself is expressed in the meaning of 'not paying attention to new confirmed cases and eliminating social distancing'."
The government said it was using the concept of 'step-by-step recovery (plan)'.
In the article, we are going to use the term 'with corona', which is the most commonly used expression.
[What is it?] Two perspectives on 'With Corona'
The expression 'with corona' has two meanings. The first is the transition to a medical system centered on critically ill patients and the dead. The second is to return to daily life by adjusting the distance.
'Medical system transition' means to go to a quarantine system that focuses on the management of critically ill patients and the fatality rate rather than suppressing the occurrence of confirmed cases. There are two methods of 'quarantining': reducing the disease infection itself and reducing the seriousness and death. So far, we have focused on reducing the infection itself, but now we are talking about changing the paradigm towards reducing the number of deaths and severe cases.
This judgment is based on the premise that it is difficult to control the corona situation after the delta mutation with existing quarantine measures. Although the current highest stage, Stage 4, has been implemented for the ninth week, the number of new confirmed cases shows no sign of falling below the four-digit number.
The current concept of 'confirmed' does not differentiate between asymptomatic or mild patients and those with severe or severe cases who need to be hospitalized. With the current method of isolating all asymptomatic or mild patients at the living treatment center and tracing the movement of each confirmed case and conducting an epidemiological investigation, it is difficult to cope with more confirmed cases than now. Focusing only on the outbreak in a situation where the medical staff is limited can cause harm to critically ill patients and patients suffering from numerous other diseases. Therefore, there is little disagreement between the quarantine authorities and experts about the major direction of changing the medical system to the management of the sick and the death prevention.
'Easing quarantine steps' means easing quarantine guidelines and restoring daily life step by step.
Each country chooses a different method of transition to With Corona.
The UK is on the most daring side.
After lifting the quarantine and distancing measures, 30,000 to 40,000 daily confirmed cases continue, and 100 to 200 deaths are occurring each day.
It is difficult to apply the British method as it is in Korea, where the death toll is about 10 per day.
Jung Eun-kyung, head of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, "Even if the quarantine paradigm shifts to With Corona, it is difficult to abolish social distancing, and we will ease it step by step."
Experts point out that it is necessary to be cautious about switching to Corona with hastily in a situation where there is no specific treatment for lowering the severity and fatality rate.
It also warns that if quarantine measures are hastily eased, the number of patients with stomach-severe cases may increase along with the number of confirmed cases, leading to a crisis of medical collapse.
[Why are you doing this?] Corona, it is impossible to end
The reason for the transition to 'With Corona' was the emergence of delta mutations. Before the delta mutation appeared, the world thought that 70% of the population would be vaccinated and herd immunity would form and they would be able to escape this disgusting COVID-19. 'Restoring daily life after outbreak of herd immunity' was the goal of all countries around the world. In fact, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore have implemented a 'zero confirmed case' policy in response to strong lockdowns since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic last year.
However, the spread of delta mutations has called for policy changes in countries. Even in countries that have been at the forefront of vaccination, such as Israel, it turns out that there is no way to prevent the delta infection itself. Instead, it has been confirmed that those who received the vaccine passed without being seriously ill even if they got a breakthrough infection, so if Corona 19 is controlled with a fatality rate below the flu, and people who received the vaccine can get sick enough to get a cold, they will now return to normal socio-economic activities. The sleeping voice grew louder.
Singapore has already declared with Corona, and Australia has also foretold the transition to With Corona. In a situation where it is impossible to eradicate the corona virus, which continues to mutate and increase its transmission power, maintaining high-intensity quarantine measures due to the increase in the number of confirmed cases is because the economic and social damage is too great.
Experts predict that with the advent of the delta mutation, there will be few 'people who can be protected' through herd immunity.
However, as I have said several times before, there is no need to be overly afraid of the word 'infection' itself.
This is because countries are proving that, even if infected, most of them pass mildly after vaccination is complete.
[Is it possible?] The reason for saying 'With Corona'... Many people's lives are falling apart
This policy change is possible because the vaccination rate is on the rise.
On the 7th, the first dose of the vaccine exceeded 60%.
(62.6% as of the 9th) It has been 6 months since the corona vaccine was started in Korea.
If this trend continues, the quarantine authorities judge that the initial goal of 70% of the nation's population can be achieved before the Chuseok holiday (September 19-22).
The quarantine authorities suggested November as the time to review the quarantine policy transition, two weeks after vaccination, on the premise that 70% of the population will complete the second vaccination at the end of October.
It is estimated that 70% of the national vaccination completion rate is 80% of the adult population except for those under the age of 18, and the vaccination rate of the elderly over 60 years old is 90%.
It is difficult to ignore the pain of small business owners and self-employed people who have had a difficult time due to the corona virus.
As the high-intensity distance has been in place for over a year, on the night of the 8th, self-employed people demanded the 'abolition of quarantine regulations' and held a nationwide vehicle demonstration for the first time.
It has been a long time since the difficulties of the self-employed appeared in numbers.
Sales fell and loans increased due to the high-strength distance.
The difficulties of the self-employed lead to the difficulties of part-time workers who work there.
The Corona crisis is not just a problem for the self-employed, but has a cascading effect on the vulnerable in our society.
Depression and suicide-related indicators worsen... Growing risk signals
There are also growing signs of invisible danger.
Last month, a team led by Professor Baek Jong-woo of the Department of Psychiatry at Kyunghee University Hospital announced the results of a study titled “Evaluation of the Mental Health and Social Psychology Impact of the Corona 19 Public Health Crisis.”
Depression and anxiety indicators have significantly deteriorated compared to before the coronavirus outbreak.
Key mental health indicators were lower among young people in their 20s and 30s and women.
The situation of the low-income class with household income of 3 million won or less was severe in all mental health indicators such as depression, anxiety, lack of social support, daily life disability, insomnia, and suicidal tendencies.
(From March 26 to April 29, for 1,150 adults and adolescents over 14 years of age nationwide)
[What's going on?] With Corona = No Mask?
Controversy has arisen over the claim that the government has ordered a 'no-mask test' for soldiers.
On the 17th of last month, the Ministry of National Defense's health policy department set up a plan to carry out a pilot implementation of relaxed quarantine guidelines, such as the removal of masks.
Afterwards, on the 18th, it requested the review of related documents from the general coordination team of the Central Quarantine Countermeasures Headquarters under the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Ministry of National Defense plans to conduct a pilot project to ease quarantine guidelines for three weeks from the end of August to mid-September, then evaluate the risk of quarantine and expand it to the entire military.
In the official letter sent to the main headquarters, it was stated that "according to the President's instructions on August 4, we are reviewing the 'preemptive quarantine mitigation plan to be applied by the military first when group immunity is formed after the completion of vaccination in the military'."
Here, confusion arose over whether 'preemptive easing of quarantine' means 'taking off the mask'.
Even if 'With Corona' progresses in stages, taking off the mask is expected to be the last step.
Of course, once the stage is relaxed, you may be able to take off your mask outdoors.
The 'outdoor no-mask' was actually the first step in the inoculation benefit following the 'outdoor no-mask', following the government's quarantine mitigation plan announced in May to allow immediate family gatherings.
However, 'indoor no-mask' is highly likely to be the last step.
Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyung said at the National Assembly on the 7th, "In the case of an indoor mask, it is the last thing."
Many other countries are also maintaining 'mandatory indoor masks' measures.
There was a time when I thought, 'Corona overcoming = no mask', but given the continued appearance of the mutant virus, it is a situation where we have no choice but to think differently.
When the direction is changed to With Corona, home treatment naturally expands. Those with no risk factors for becoming severe are treated at home without going to the community treatment center. Lee Ki-il, 1st Supervisor of the Central Investigation Service, said on the 10th, “As the vaccination rate increases, new quarantine measures will be followed by a step-by-step recovery of daily life. System change is being discussed," he said. "We will prepare in advance for home treatment for asymptomatic and mild patients."
[How about in other countries?] What about Singapore and Britain's 'With Corona'?
The UK and Singapore started the With Corona experiment based on their high vaccination rates. In the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, Singapore introduced strict regulatory measures aimed at bringing the number of infected people to zero. However, in June, "Corona may not disappear forever," and with Corona officially became official. It stopped counting the number of infected people and stopped tracking the movement of the confirmed patients. Focused on the management of critically ill patients and expanded home treatment. The quarantine mitigation policy was implemented gradually. As the vaccination completion rate exceeded 70%, the quarantine measures were lowered by one step from August. The limit of the number of gatherings has been increased from 2 to 5, and religious, sports, and cultural events with more than 500 people are permitted. Wearing a mask is still compulsory. As the quarantine phase was eased, the number of new infections increased. Singapore, with a population of 5.7 million, recorded 347 new confirmed cases per day (as of the 9th), the highest level ever recorded, but 23 seriously ill patients and 6 critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care unit were the same as last week. As of September 4, according to the international statistical site OurWorld InData, the fatality rate of coronavirus in Singapore was 0.08%, which is lower than that of South Korea (0.89%) and flu (0.1%). The Singapore government said it plans to ease most of the quarantine measures from the end of this month if the number of critically ill patients does not change as much as it is now.
The UK declared with Corona since last July, with 50% of adults getting fully vaccinated.
Restrictions on business and number of gatherings at multi-use facilities were lifted, and the duty to wear indoor masks was lifted.
Despite the opposition of some experts, it was eventually recommended to wear a mask, but it is still not compulsory.
The fatality rate in the UK, which chose the most drastic Weed Corona policy, was less than 1% until the first half of this year, but has recently risen to 1.9%.
The number of confirmed cases, once down to the 1,000 level, surged to 38,510 (as of the 9th).
It is analyzed that the spread of the delta mutation and the sudden easing of quarantine had a bad effect.
[What are the measures?] Conditions for 'With Corona' 'Cure'
There is some consensus on the way to the 'with Corona' phase, but the reason they are cautious about speeding up is because there is no cure for Corona yet.
The final stage of With Corona is going from a pandemic (a global pandemic) to an endemic (endemic).
The development of a treatment could be an important turning point in the corona crisis.
In 2009, a flu called H1N1 was swept in Korea.
The swine flu, which drove the whole nation into fear, has stabilized with the development of Tamiflu, an oral treatment.
MSD's edible corona 19 treatment 'molnupiravir'
is expected to be commercialized within this year. Currently, multinational pharmaceutical companies such as MSD, Roche, and Pfizer are conducting phase 3 clinical trials for oral treatment. The fastest is MSD's 'molnupiravir'. It is taken twice a day for five days, and the price of one tablet is estimated to be around 80,000 Korean won. Urgent FDA approval is expected when the clinical trial results come out at the end of this year, and the US has already purchased 1.7 million Molupiravir for $1.2 billion, or KRW 1.4 trillion. The Korean government announced that it would purchase 38,000 doses by setting a budget of 36.2 billion won for the purchase of the drug this year and next year. The amount is assumed to be around 900,000 won per person. The government is pushing ahead with the pre-purchase of treatments from multiple global pharmaceutical companies. We are also supporting the development of domestic treatments, but we are monitoring the products of several pharmaceutical companies because they believe that cheaper treatments may be available.
(Composition: Senior Correspondent Lee Hyun-sik, Reporter Jang Seon-i, Kim Hwi-ran Editor / Designer: Myung Ha-eun, Park Jeong-ha)