Amid the signs of Covid-19’s resurgence, the medical community calls for prudence in adjusting its infectious disease status and easing quarantine measures.
On Thursday, the Korean Medical Association (KMA) president visited the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) and called for a cautious decision. The KMA chief pointed out that easing the current second-phase quarantine steps in the face of 50,000 new daily infections could lead to chaos, disrupting overall healthcare service.
"I agree that we need to get out of the Covid-19 crisis and gradually recover normal life, but the number of new Covid-19 cases is increasing every day," KMA President Lee Pil-soo said during his visit to KDCA Commissioner Jee Young-mee.
He added that a winter spread is also expected after October if the number of travelers increases during the summer vacation season and Chuseok holidays.
"Considering the impact on the public and the medical reality in Korea, it is necessary to choose a more appropriate timing for downgrading Covid-19’s infectious disease level," Lee said. "If the Covid-19 rating is downgraded when the public has not acquired immunity to the dominant strain, XBB, it may send the wrong message to the public. That could lead to a lapse in personal hygiene, resulting in increased cases and the number of high-risk individuals. So, a careful decision is needed."
He expressed concern that if Covid-19 is downgraded from a level 2 to a level 4 infectious disease, most reimbursements will stop, and testing will not be reimbursed. Leading to a decrease in patient care and testing for Covid-19.
"The reshuffle in the reimbursement based on the recent downgrade may disrupt infectious disease treatment at medical institutions, which have curbed Covid-19 resurgence and discourage patients from diagnosing and testing," Lee said. "The termination of reimbursement for medical institutions removes the incentive for medical institutions doing their best to manage infections, such as wearing personal protective equipment to minimize infections within hospitals."
Failure to motivate healthcare organizations to treat patients with infectious diseases will make them reluctant to treat patients with infectious diseases, which, in turn, will make it difficult to manage infectious diseases, causing chaos in the medical field and great losses to society as a whole," Lee said.
Even if the infectious disease rating is adjusted, Lee said the Covid-19 crisis stage, which was downgraded in June, should remain at the “alert” level to maintain medical response and support systems for the time being.
"Active policy support from the KDCA and other related agencies is essential," the KMA head said.