Regarding the partial lifting of the mandatory wearing of indoor masks, Jung Ki-seok, head of the Corona 19 Special Response Team and Chairman of the National Infectious Disease Crisis Response Advisory Committee, said that it is not yet the time to safely lift the mask and that it is necessary to wait about three more months.
Chairman Jeong said at a regular briefing today (24th), "If you are patient for three months, you won't have to worry too much about indoor masks."
However, facilities such as public transportation and medical institutions emphasized that even if the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is declared worldwide, it will take a long time to safely remove the indoor mask.
Regarding indoor places excluding public transportation and medical institutions, he said, "I think that the obligation can be boldly lifted when it is judged that it is safe to take some risks regardless of a special, specific place, time, or environment." .
Earlier, Minister of Health and Welfare Jo Gyu-hong said in a general audit of the National Assembly on the 20th, "We will actively review the overseas cases where medical institutions, public transportation, social welfare facilities, etc. I did.
Chairman Jeong continues to discuss the issue of indoor masks with the Advisory Committee, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but considering the high outdoor mask wear rate, the problem of victims in good faith, and the risk of the upcoming 7th wave of COVID-19 (winter again), it is difficult to reach a conclusion. said the situation.
"Even if the number of infections increases, no one will die and if there is no problem in the intensive care unit, they will tell you to take off the indoor mask, but this is not the case now."
He continued, "It would be in May, but now it is in the middle of winter," he said, emphasizing that the scientific basis for lifting the indoor mask duty is not yet visible.
In particular, he cautioned that when the mandatory indoor mask is lifted, the risk of severe and death may increase for young children and the elderly.
Chairman Jung said, "If the spread of various infectious respiratory diseases such as seasonal flu, human metapneumovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RS virus) is prevalent, the medical field will be confused if the COVID-19 resurgence intensifies. We have to come up with a solution.”
Infectious respiratory diseases such as human metapneumovirus infection, which has been prevalent in Korea for the first time in three years since the first half of 2019, and RS virus, which began to spread earlier than expected along with the flu, are known to have a particularly high risk in children.
Unlike adults, children aged 0 to 3 years old have no immunity because they have never been exposed to these diseases, because there are no vaccines or treatments for metapneumovirus and RS virus.
The government has revised the pediatric medical response system and emergency room infectious disease response guidelines in preparation for the simultaneous outbreak of COVID-19 and seasonal flu.
First, the guidelines have been changed so that there is no need to separate time and space when symptomatic patients receive outpatient treatment.
In response, Chairman Chung evaluated that "it is an appropriate measure because the toxicity of COVID-19 is weakening and vaccines and treatments are always nearby."
In addition, when an emergency patient with symptomatic pediatric symptoms occurs, there is no need to delay the gene amplification (PCR) test first, so the diagnosis is made through rapid antigen test in principle, and treatment is provided in a general hospital rather than in an isolated bed, enabling prompt emergency treatment. made it
Chairman Jeong emphasized that the government and local governments should manage whether the pediatric medical response system works properly through regional health and medical councils.
Regarding the period of the 7th wave of COVID-19, which was initially predicted to occur in early December, Chairman Chung said, "If the weekly average daily average of 20,000 people continues and then suddenly increases, then it can be considered that a resurgence has started." He explained that participation rate can be a variable in the timing and size of an outbreak.
He said that it is difficult to predict the mutation that will lead the resurgence, and said, "The BQ.1 and XBB mutations discussed now are only hypotheses," he said.
He also said that although experiments are still in progress, he believes that the improved vaccine currently being administered will have some degree of preventive effect against BQ.1 and XBB mutations.