Beginning March 1, South Korea will no longer require people to produce proof of vaccination or negative testing in order to enter any indoor place, eliminating a vital preventive step during a rapidly rising omicron surge that is increasing hospitalizations and deaths.
On February 28, the Health Ministry announced that the country has established a new one-day record for COVID-19 deaths, with 114, breaking the previous high of 112 recorded on Saturday. More than 710 COVID-19 patients were in critical or life-threatening circumstances, up from 200-300 in mid-February, and over half of the country’s COVID-19-specific intensive care units were full.
Removing the “anti-epidemic pass,” according to Park Hyang, a senior Health Ministry official, would free up additional health workers to help monitor over 8,00,000 virus patients with mild to moderate symptoms who have been requested to be isolated at home to preserve hospital space. South Korea South Korea
South Korea is looking forward to free-up resources
In the previous week, about 2,50,000 people received free quick antigen tests at public health offices and testing stations. About half of those came for 24-hour evidence of negative tests, according to the Ministry (South Korea). Adults have been obliged to show proof of negative testing or confirm their immunization status via smartphone apps to enter potentially crowded locations such as restaurants, coffee shops, gyms, and karaoke venues since December.
Local court verdicts in cities such as Daegu, where a district judge last week determined the measures were excessive for those in their 50s and younger, had already challenged the program. He pointed out that the government has changed its anti-virus campaign’s focus to high-risk populations, such as persons in their 60s and older, and those with preexisting medical concerns.
“We had contemplated allocating our limited public health resources to screen high-risk groups and managing those who had previously tested positive….” “There was also regional misunderstanding as a result of court rulings,” Park remarked during a press conference.
Authorities have no plans to restore the anti-epidemic pass until the pandemic changes significantly, such as the appearance of a new coronavirus type, according to her. “While the anti-epidemic pass has been discontinued, we ask that persons in their 60s and older, as well as those who have never been vaccinated, exercise even more caution than before,” Park said, adding that omicron might be deadly to them.
So far, Omicron appears to be less likely than the delta strain that wreaked havoc on the country in December and early January to cause significant illness or death. However, as the outbreak grows in scope, hospitalizations and deaths are on the rise, putting a strain on already overworked health and public-safety personnel.
The country has been compelled to adapt its pandemic response in such a way that it efficiently tolerates the virus’s spread among the general population while focusing medical resources on protecting priority populations.
Officials have dramatically loosened quarantine regulations while aggressively expanding at-home treatments. Despite worries about their accuracy and proclivity for false-negative findings, the country has reorganized its testing program around fast antigen test kits, sparing laboratory tests for priority groups. As the country continues to post some of the world’s highest daily infection figures, including 1,39,626 on Monday, many South Koreans are wary of the “bend but not break” strategy.
Given people’s exhaustion and discontent with protracted limitations and the impact on service sector enterprises, there appears to be limited political potential to strengthen social separation ahead of the March 9 presidential election.
Despite the rising outbreak, officials extended restaurant eating hours by an hour to 10 p.m. earlier this month, however private social gatherings are still limited to six people. More than 86 percent of the country’s 51 million people have received full vaccinations, with roughly 61 percent receiving booster injections.