government considers whether its “3-T” approach of trace, test, and treat is best for changing situations where new virus cases soar due to variants’ spread.
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum met with quarantine experts at the government complex in Seoul and exchanged opinions on changing the Covid-19 response strategy.
"We have come this far thanks to the cooperation of the people, but there has been criticism that the methods so far have reached their limits," Kim said during his opening speech. "After the Delta mutation, there are also questions about if the quarantine frame we are using is viable."
An increasing number of epidemiological experts say the nation cannot attain herd immunity even if it vaccinates 70 percent of Koreans because of Delta variants, calling for a more sophisticated approach until Covid-19 becomes like the flu.
Korea's daily new Covid-19 tally dropped back below 2,000 on Thursday, but authorities expressed concerns that the peak of the current wave of the pandemic is yet to come. The country added 1,987 Covid-19 cases, including 1,947 local infections, raising the total caseload to 218,192, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
The figure was down from the record high cases of 2,223 reported on Wednesday. Three more people died from the virus, raising the death toll to 2,138 with a fatality rate of 0.98 percent. The daily caseload has continued to increase despite the government implementing the toughest social distancing measure of Level 4 in the greater Seoul area for more than a month.
The toughest distancing restrictions ban gatherings of more than two people after 6 p.m. and place a 10 p.m. curfew on restaurants and cafes and a ban on nightclubs and other entertainment venues.
The country is also enforcing Level 3 distancing restrictions in the non-capital areas to contain the virus better. However, due to a recent surge in cases outside of Seoul, some regional governments, such as Busan and Daejeon, have decided to preemptively upgrade their distancing scheme to Level 4 to contain further infections.
The authorities cited increased travel during the summer season and the fast spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant as the reason for the recent surge. As the enhanced distancing measures have shown little to no effect in curbing cases, health authorities consider introducing an even more stringent virus curb.
Experts said this seems inevitable, not least because the country's vaccination rate has remained low due mainly to problems in securing vaccines on time.
On the other hand, health officials expressed concerns that the vaccination reservation rate for those aged 18-49 is lower than expected.
The government had started reservations for vaccinations for people aged 18 to 49, estimated at some 16 million on Monday.
"Currently, we are taking reservations for those aged 18 to 49, but the reservation rate for two days is 60 percent, lower than the target of 70 percent," Ministry of Health and Welfare Spokesperson Son Young-rae said.
The actual reservation rate was lower than the reservation intention rate found in various surveys, and the government plans to strengthen its public campaign, he added.
Son stressed citizens included in the vaccination reservation group to reserve their vaccines as actively as possible for their health and the safety of everyone.