'1 hour extension → 1 hour extension → 2 people relaxed'... Experts' concerns

With the number of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Korea rising and falling between 400,000 and 600,000, the government has decided to slightly ease social distancing again today (18th).

As the high-intensity social distancing has been in place for over three months, the difficulties and inconveniences of small business owners and the self-employed are aggravating the public.

This is the third easing of quarantine measures following the two adjustments made on the 18th of last month and the 4th of this month to extend the business hours of multi-use facilities such as restaurants and cafes from 9:00 pm to 10:00 pm and back to 11:00 pm.

After the peak of the epidemic, the government plans to review measures to ease restrictions on operating hours and the size of meetings, events, and assemblies while checking the quarantine status and the capacity of the medical system.

However, in a situation where the peak of the epidemic has not been confirmed, only a slight easing of the limit on the number of private gatherings will not help greatly in reducing the damage to the self-employed, but there are concerns that it will only increase the damage from the spread of Omicron.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters has decided to increase the size of private gatherings from the 21st to the 3rd of the next month from a maximum of 6 to 8 people.

Instead, the business hours of 13 types of multi-use facilities have been decided to remain as they are now until 11pm.

Although the quarantine measures cannot be greatly eased in a situation where the peak of the Omicron mutation epidemic is uncertain and the number of critically ill patients and deaths is rapidly increasing, considering the accumulated damage to small business owners and self-employed people and inconvenience to the public, it is slightly more The government explained that the decision was made to mediate.

Regarding the adjustment of the distance, the quarantine and medical division of the Daily Recovery Support Committee argued that easing quarantine measures before the peak of the epidemic was inappropriate, but the economic and livelihood divisions said that the effectiveness of the distancing was low and the peak of the epidemic is expected in a short period of time. Emphasis was placed on mitigation.

In the meantime, the government has continued to suggest that restrictions can be eased in large numbers when the next distance adjustment is adjusted. .

Deok-cheol Kwon, the 1st deputy head of the Central Division (Minister of Health and Welfare), said, "It is time to re-adjust the social distancing of the past two weeks, but considering the Omicron pandemic, the burden of the medical response system, and the uncertainty of predicting the peak of the epidemic, the distance has been greatly eased. It is a very worrying situation,” he said.

At a regular briefing today, Lee Ki-il, the first control officer of the Korean Central News Agency, also said, "This adjustment will be adjusted to a minimum, but after the peak, it has been decided to gradually ease it while checking the scale of the epidemic and the capacity of the medical system."

This is a step back from the existing policy of reviewing 'significant easing' of distancing and lowering the level to 'gradual easing'.

The government also said that due to the high transmission power of the Omicron mutation, the effectiveness of the existing distancing has decreased, and other quarantine measures such as lifting the quarantine obligation for those living with the confirmed person and stopping the application of the quarantine pass (inoculation certificate and negative confirmation system) have also been reflected, the government said. I did.

In particular, he emphasized that due to the reorganization of the quarantine and medical system, the severity of COVID-19 decreased from 0.63% in January to 0.16% last month, and the fatality rate decreased from 0.31% to 0.09% during the same period.

The government does not expect the peak of confirmed cases and severe cases to rise significantly as this distance measure is a minimal adjustment.

However

about easing the quarantine measures once more in a situation where the scale of the epidemic continues to grow

.

Since the 14th, those who have tested positive for the professional rapid antigen test conducted at hospitals and clinics are also judged to be confirmed cases. situation.

As the number of confirmed cases increases, the number of home-treated patients and patients with severe cases increases, putting a strain on the medical system and interfering with the provision of special medical services such as children, childbirth, and emergency.

Cheon Byung-cheol, a professor of preventive medicine at Korea University College of Medicine, said in a media call today, “It seems that the reason or rationale for easing the distance during the epidemic is not clear.

Regarding the impact of this measure, Professor Cheon said, "The number of patients at the peak of the epidemic will inevitably increase. "He said.

Eom Joong-sik, a professor of infectious disease at Gachon University Gil Hospital, also evaluated this measure, saying, "It could make the situation worse, but it doesn't help anything to make it better."

Professor Eom also said, "We have to look at the peak period and the scale of the epidemic again."

Experts have expressed concern, in particular, that the death toll may increase due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Due to the Omicron pandemic, the number of deaths from COVID-19 has gradually increased to 1,907 in the past week.

Professor Cheon said, "Medical institutions are almost saturated, and as the number of confirmed cases increases, the blind spot (medical) is bound to grow."

Professor Eom also said, "(The government) says the fatality rate is low, but the absolute value of the death toll is being felt at the scene."

Some point out that this measure, which slightly increased the number of gatherings, will not be of much help in reducing the damage to the self-employed and small business owners.

Previously, the government extended the business hours of multi-use facilities twice, but credit card sales fell from a peak of 9.6 trillion won in January to 8.243 trillion won last week.

Credit card sales last week decreased by 6.3% from the previous week and by 10.2% from two weeks ago, according to the main script.

By industry, credit card sales for entertainment facilities alone increased 18.4% from the previous week and 29.9% from two weeks ago, while other industries such as distribution, travel, and restaurants saw a decrease in sales.

In response, the government explained that the decrease in travel volume as the number of confirmed cases increased had an effect on the decrease in sales.

Last week, estimated using data from actual mobile phone use, the number of people traveling decreased by 1.3% compared to the previous week, and highway traffic decreased by 6.0%.

(Photo = Yonhap News)