The government decided Friday to prolong the seven-day mandatory quarantine of people infected by the Covid-19 virus for four more weeks, reflecting concerns about a resurge.
The current virus spread is manageable, but concerns linger, and Covid-19 deaths have not sufficiently dropped, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said while presiding over a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting.
"Easing the self-isolation obligation could advance the timing of a virus resurge and expand damage," Han said.
Health authorities said the daily caseload could surge 8.3 times if the mandate is lifted, noting that benefits from maintaining the policy far outweigh lifting it. The government plans to reassess the situation every four weeks and decide whether to lift the quarantine mandate for Covid-19 patients after considering six factors, including the number of deaths and the fatality rate.
The government will retain the mandate until July 17.
According to health officials, the decision also reflected experts’ opinions in the meeting, who expressed concerns about the undiminished contagious power of Covid-19 and the possible emergence of new variants.
To lift the quarantine mandate, weekly deaths must go under 100, with the fatality rate staying below 0.1 percent, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA)
According to the officials, the government will lift the quarantine mandate only when the number of deaths and fatalities fall to the levels of influenza, pointing out that the nation has yet to attain such a level in the three factors of the death toll, prediction of spread, and excessive deaths.
However, Prime Minister Han said the government would ease some remaining restrictions by, for instance, allowing in-person meetings at nursing homes and senior care hospitals regardless of vaccination status.
It also will permit older adults who have received a fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to leave such facilities freely.
“Korea's Covid-19 situation continues to stabilize, but the country is not completely out of danger," the prime minister said. “Even if the restrictions are lifted, please follow the containment rules thoroughly to protect yourselves from Covid-19."
On Friday, new virus cases remained below 10,000 for the eighth day, maintaining a slowdown trend.
Korea added 7,198 Covid-19 infections, including 68 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,263,643, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
The country reported nine more Covid-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 24,416. The fatality rate stood at 0.13 percent.
The number of critically ill patients came to 82, down from 98 the previous day, the KDCA said.
Korea's Covid-19 cases have been trending downward since reaching an all-time high of over 620,000 in mid-March.
As of Friday, 44.61 million, or 86.9 percent of the population, had completed the full two-dose vaccinations, and 33.34 million, or 65 percent, had received their first booster shots.
About 4.3 million people, or 8.4 percent of the population, had gotten their second booster shots, according to the KDCA.