As the Omicron wave approached a peak, the government shifted to a new at-home treatment system focusing on the high-risk group on Thursday, leaving both patients and local health officials embarrassed about what to do.
The country reported 54,122 new Covid-19 infections, including 54,034 local cases, raising the total to 1,185,361, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). It marked the first time that the daily tally exceeded the 50,000 mark.
The death toll came to 6,963, up 20 from Wednesday. The fatality rate was 0.61 percent, down from 0.59 percent a day earlier. The number of critically ill patients was 282, up three a day earlier, the KDCA said. At-home patients rose sharply to over 174,177, as more people have shown mild or no symptoms due to the omicron variant.
As the escalating Omicron wave overwhelms health workers and quarantine officials, Korea has started implementing a new at-home treatment system.
However, the new at-home system shows problems with localities complaining of a shortage of manpower due to the lack of preparation. As the government shifted its quarantine system rather abruptly, most local governments said that they did not have enough time to prepare for the new system.
For instance, the Seoul Metropolitan Government operates two counseling headquarters and provides intensive care groups with monitoring and treatment support through 154 at-home treatment management medical institutions. However, as more than 38,000 patients are receiving at-home treatment in Seoul as of Thursday, the City Hall has difficulties caring for everyone as the number of response centers for general patients is insufficient.
In Busan, there are 10 all-day counseling centers and 59 designated medical institutions to provide weekly consultations on weekdays.
However, the municipal administration experienced confusion in the early stages of its implementation as medical staff had to provide both face-to-face treatment and non-face-to-face treatment.
Other cities also experienced similar problems while the patients found it difficult to reach the public health center for help.
People experienced confusion as they did not fully understand the relevant information, not knowing whether they belonged to the high-risk group or low-risk group or how to receive treatment prescriptions.
Worse yet, self-diagnostic kits and oxygen saturation meters, which are necessary equipment for at-home treatment and management, have long been out of stock. The purchasable diagnostic kits are also getting more expensive by the day.
According to reports, the cost of diagnostic kits at some pharmacies jumped nearly nine times in merely a week. To cope with the shortage of diagnostic kits, the government is considering banning the online sale of self-test kits.
As of Thursday, 28.73 million people, or 56 percent of the country's population, had received booster shots. The number of fully vaccinated people came to 44.17 million people, accounting for 86.1 percent.
On Wednesday, U.S.-based biotechnology company Novavax's Covid-19 vaccine became available in Korea after being manufactured at home by local vaccine developer SK Bioscience following the government's authorization of its use last month.
It will be administered to unvaccinated people aged 18 or older and those who are to receive their second and booster shots. The authorities have said that this "classic" type of vaccine could encourage more people to consider getting shots.