2024-04-30 00:49:45
Starting May 1, the mandatory wearing of masks will be lifted in hospitals and clinics.
The quarantine recommendation criteria has been relaxed to ‘24 hours after symptom improvement’.
Full recovery to daily life 4 years and 4 months after the first patient in Korea was discovered
Starting May 1, all mandatory COVID-19 quarantine measures will be changed to ‘recommendations’, and the obligation to wear masks in hospitals and doctors’ offices will be lifted. The recommended quarantine standard for confirmed cases will also be relaxed to 24 hours after the main symptoms of COVID-19 improve.
This is a measure taken as the COVID-19 crisis level was lowered from the current ‘vigilance’ to the lowest ‘concern’.
It has been 4 years and 4 months since January 2020, when the first COVID-19 patient occurred in Korea, and we are entering a complete recovery of daily life, in effect, facing the endemic of COVID-19 (an infectious disease that has become endemic).
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the 30th, Commissioner Ji Young-mi announced on the 19th that the COVID-19 Central Accident Control Headquarters (Central Report) will downgrade the COVID-19 crisis level to the lowest level of ‘concern’ from the 1st of next month. The COVID-19 crisis stages consist of concern, caution, caution, and seriousness.
The COVID-19 crisis level was raised to ‘severe’ on February 23, 2020, immediately after the first death in Korea, and then lowered to ‘alert’ on June 1 of last year, three years and four months later.
This crisis level downgrade took into account the fact that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has significantly decreased, the mutation that could cause a surge in the epidemic in the short term has not been identified, and the fatality and severity rates of COVID-19 continue to decrease. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the number of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 was 4,705 in the first week of March this year, but decreased to 2,283 in the second week of April.
Accordingly, all legal obligations applied to quarantine will be lifted and converted to autonomous quarantine practice. Those confirmed with COVID-19 can return to their daily lives even if it is not more than 5 days after confirmation if there are no abnormalities after checking for a day after the main symptoms have improved.
In addition, wearing masks indoors in hospital-level medical institutions and inpatient facilities vulnerable to infection will be changed from mandatory to recommended. Preemptive testing of residents of facilities vulnerable to infection, such as nursing hospitals, will also be changed to recommendation. The obligation to preemptively test workers at facilities vulnerable to infection and their guardians was already converted to a recommendation in June and August of last year, respectively.
Medical support will also be adjusted to minimize the burden of testing and treatment costs. In the case of gene amplification audit (PCR) testing to confirm the diagnosis in the target group of oral treatment, health insurance is applied, but the temporary out-of-pocket support of approximately 10,000 to 30,000 won will end. Support for testing costs for asymptomatic people will also disappear.
Rapid antigen testing (RAT) will continue to be supported for symptomatic patients over 60 years of age, patients with underlying diseases over 12 years of age, and immunocompromised patients, as well as those receiving oral treatment, patients visiting nursing facilities in medically vulnerable areas, patients visiting emergency rooms, and patients admitted to intensive care units.
In the case of hospitalization treatment costs, government support for some seriously ill patients will end, but the burden will be minimized through a cap on out-of-pocket expenses.
Treatments such as Paxrovid, which are supported for high-risk groups for COVID-19, are being prepared for health insurance coverage.
It was decided to maintain free vaccination for all citizens only until the 2023-2024 vaccination season. Starting with the 2024-2025 vaccination season, free vaccination will be provided only to high-risk groups such as those aged 65 or older and those with weakened immune systems.
The COVID-19 positive patient surveillance system is terminated. The status of COVID-19 specimen surveillance can be checked through the Infectious Disease Specimen Surveillance Weekly Newsletter posted every Thursday in the infectious disease news section of the infectious disease portal.
The operation of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (KCDC), which was established in January 2020, will also end. However, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency plans to continue responding to COVID-19 by operating a COVID-19 task force.
Commissioner Ji said, “The COVID-19 crisis level has been lowered and the quarantine of confirmed cases has been eased, but the culture of resting when sick is a culture that is essential to preserve the health of members of our society.” He added, “If you have COVID-19 symptoms, you will continue to visit a nearby medical institution, receive treatment, and wash your hands.” ·Please follow personal quarantine rules in daily life, such as cough etiquette,” he requested.
Meanwhile, in many overseas countries, such as the UK and Spain, the government does not provide a separate recommended quarantine period for COVID-19. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also lowered its quarantine recommendation from 5 days in March to 24 hours after symptoms have improved and no fever.
[서울=뉴시스]
2024-04-30 00:49:45