hankyoreh

People wait outside a COVID-19 screening station set up in Songpa District, Seoul, on March 16 for COVID-19 testing. (Yonhap News)

The Omicron wave of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to crest in South Korea as more than 600,000 confirmed cases were reported in the country on Wednesday, setting a pandemic record. At the same time, the government is speeding up the return to normal by considering increasing the maximum size of private gatherings from 6 to 8 and further easing restrictions on business hours when it updates regulations on Friday. In line with Korea’s changing response to the pandemic, officials are also looking into downgrading COVID-19 from the Class 1 group of infectious diseases.

The Hankyoreh learned on Wednesday that the government is looking into approving gatherings of up to eight people and allowing businesses to stay open until midnight or even as long as they want. The new rules would go into effect on Sunday, when the current restrictions — which cap private gatherings at six people and require businesses to close at 11 pm — are set to expire.

The government asked disease control and medical experts and organizations representing small business owners to share their opinions about its draft revision to social distancing regulations during a meeting on Wednesday of a government panel responsible for supporting a return to normal routines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even though Korea’s COVID-19 case total is expected to peak sometime this week or the next, the government is looking into easing social distancing regulations based on its conclusion that the medical system can provide care to high-risk patients with its current resources.

“There’s no disagreement between government ministries about raising the cap on private gatherings to eight, but they are debating whether to allow businesses to stay open until midnight or completely end mandatory closing hours. Considering that the medical system is not under as much pressure as it was in December, the prevailing view is that we should end that restriction completely,” a source in the government told the Hankyoreh over the phone Wednesday.

The draft revisions will be finalized after a disease control strategy meeting that will be held at 4:30 pm Thursday with the prime minister presiding.

There are also concerns that it’s premature to ease social distancing when the curve is still climbing and the country is reporting record numbers not only of confirmed cases, but also of critical illness and death.

“The problem is not what time businesses have to close or how many people are allowed to gather. What’s worrisome is that the populace might take this as a signal to relax their vigilance against the disease. Such choices could be made after we’ve confirmed that the peak has passed, and the wave is receding. I’m not sure we need to take on these risks and uncertainty,” said Paik Soon-young, professor emeritus of microbiology at the Catholic University of Korea.

Change is also in the works for COVID-19’s current designation as a “Class 1” infectious disease.

During a COVID-19 response meeting at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on Wednesday, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum expressed hope that public disease officials and the health care community would discuss adjusting the infectious disease designation of COVID-19, saying, doing so would allow Korea to “use [its] routine medical resources to respond to the disease.”

Under the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, medical personnel are mandated to report any occurrence or outbreak of a Class 1 infectious disease given the potential for proliferation and the high case fatality rate. Patients are also supposed to be strictly quarantined, which can include isolation in negative pressure rooms.

COVID-19 has been handled as a Class 1 infectious disease alongside such diseases as Ebola and swine flu.

In the case of Class 2 or Class 3 diseases, medical personnel must report an occurrence or outbreak within 24 hours. Quarantine can be required for Class 2 diseases depending on their degree of infectiousness.

There are no reporting requirements for Class 4 infectious diseases, and the authorities only track cases that crop up at health care facilities responsible for monitoring samples.

Critics have argued that the disease control authorities’ actual response to the Omicron variant is out of sync with its Class 1 designation. The medical steps being taken in the field often correspond to those mandated for infectious diseases classes 2, 3 or 4.

By Jang Hyeon-eun, staff reporter; Kwon Ji-dam, staff reporter

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