The government announced that if the severe and fatality rate of COVID-19 remains stable, it will push for a 'recovery of daily life' again and consider ways to manage confirmed cases like seasonal flu patients.
The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters explained this policy today (the 4th) by announcing an adjustment plan to extend the current social distancing limit of 9 pm for private gatherings of 6 people and restaurants and cafes by two weeks. I did.
"Even if the number of confirmed cases increases, if the seriousness and fatality rate remain stable and the medical system has sufficient capacity, we have decided to lift the quarantine regulations in stages and try to restore daily life again," said Lee Ki-il, 1st Superintendent of the Korean Central News Agency, at an online briefing today. said.
In this regard, the central government added, "We are reviewing the possibility of switching to a routine quarantine and medical system similar to the seasonal flu while evaluating the capacity of the medical system, the final aggravation rate, and the fatality rate."
Regarding the timing of the daily recovery, the controller said, "We will take into account the fatality rate, severe aggravation rate, and the medical community's readiness status, etc., and we will do it step by step."
This seems to be a decision made as the Omicron mutation, which has become the dominant species in Korea, spreads more than twice as fast as the existing delta mutation, but the severity and fatality rate are estimated to be about one-third to one-fifth.
In fact, the number of new confirmed cases today (27,443) increased about four times from the 22nd of last month (7,454), when the delta mutation was prevalent six weeks ago, but the number of patients with severe cases was only a quarter ( 1,65 → 257).
Regarding the Omicron epidemic, the controller said, "There is a crisis of a rapid increase in (confirmed cases) in the short term, but in the mid to long term, there is a positive aspect that the severity and fatality rate are low and the burden on the medical system is less." We are taking the position that we are responding to this epidemic without further strengthening social distancing.”
However, if a crisis situation such as a collapse of the medical system or a rapid increase in the number of deaths is expected, we decided to review additional measures to strengthen quarantine measures such as private gatherings and limiting business hours.
While the government revealed this policy, it explained that it would continue to observe the current situation of the epidemic by continuing the current social distancing for two more weeks.
This is because the peak of the epidemic has not yet arrived, and there is a high possibility that a large-scale spread occurred through population movement during the Lunar New Year holiday (January 29-2.2).
Specifically, the maximum number of private gatherings is limited to a maximum of 6 people nationwide.
In addition, restaurants, cafes, indoor sports facilities, karaoke rooms, baths, and entertainment facilities are open until 9 pm, and private institutes, PC rooms, kids cafes, massage parlors, and party rooms are open until 10 pm.
The quarantine pass system is also maintained, and those who are not vaccinated can only use restaurants and cafes alone, as now.
Facilities that apply the quarantine pass are: ▲ entertainment facilities ▲ singing (coin) practice area ▲ indoor sports facilities ▲ bathhouse business ▲ bicycle racing, horse racing, horse racing, local casinos ▲ restaurants and cafes ▲ multi-room ▲ PC room ▲ indoor sports arena ▲ party room ▲ massage parlor・11 types including massage parlors.
The rules for events and assemblies are the same as the current guidelines.
If the number of people is less than 50, it is possible to participate regardless of inoculation or non-vaccination, and if only those who have completed the vaccination participate, it can be opened with a maximum of 299 people.