Limit on private gatherings increased to six people

Social Affairs

Published: 16 Jan. 2022, 18:00 Updated: 16 Jan. 2022, 18:00

Limit on private gatherings increased to six people

A pharmacist shows boxes of Pfizer's oral pill Paxlovid to treat Covid-19, at a drugstore in Guro District, western Seoul on Sunday. While Korea began administrating the antiviral pills Friday, health authorities said among the nine patients that took the drug on the first day, many of them have showed signs of recovery. [NEWS1]

Starting Monday, caps on private gatherings will be increased to six from the current four, while the 9 p.m. curfew will remain at restaurants and cafes through Feb. 6, including the Lunar New Year holiday early next month.

The slight easing of curbs on private gatherings came as health authorities determined they were not contributing much to the spread of the virus. The number of daily Covid-19 cases has hovered in the 4,000s in recent days after spiking to over 7,000 last month.

But restrictions on business hours of facilities will be maintained in a bid to slow the spread of the more transmissible Omicron variant of Covid-19.

Thus facilities more prone to virus transmission such as restaurants, cafes, bars, clubs, indoor sports facilities, noraebang (singing room) and saunas must close at 9 p.m., while other establishments such as hagwon (cram schools) and PC bang (internet cafes) are allowed to operate until 10 p.m.

The limits on events and rallies will also remain in place. The number of attendees is limited to 49 if unvaccinated people are included, but increased to 299 if all participants are fully vaccinated.

The government encouraged people to refrain from visiting their hometowns and meeting with relatives over the Lunar New Year holiday, which runs from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, when nationwide travel and family gatherings are expected. Accordingly, it announced special measures for the New Year holiday to be applied between Jan. 20 and Feb. 2.

Seating on trains will be limited to window seats only, and all passengers must get their temperatures checked before boarding.

Like during previous major holidays, dining at highway rest areas will be banned from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2.

Meetings at nursing facilities will only be available through windows, which should also be reserved beforehand. Indoor memorial venues will also be operated on a reservation basis during the Lunar New Year holiday.

In addition, temporary Covid-19 test sites will be set up at nine highway rest stops, while consultations at the Korea Disease Control Prevention Agency (KDCA) will be available 24 hours through its call center during the Lunar New Year holidays.

Health authorities plan to adjust the distancing rules two or three times more in the upcoming weeks.

However, if the number of daily Covid-19 infections exceeds 7,000 even with the enforcement of virus curbs, the government plans to immediately activate a response system designed to deal with the Omicron variant.

Under the new response system, PCR tests will be given to prioritized people such as those over 64 years old, or those who have received a written doctor's note from a designated medical facility.

Other people who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms will first be tested with rapid antigen tests at a near hospital or a medical clinic. If they test positive, they will be retested with a PCR test.

“Once the Omicron variant becomes the dominant strain, we believe the risk will decrease,” said Lee Ki-il, first control officer for the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters. “Then, we are planning to gradually expand [the involvement of hospitals] starting with local respiratory, ENT, internal medicine and pediatric clinics.”

Those who test positive but exhibit mild symptoms will receive ambulatory care at hospitals or medical clinics and remain at home for treatment. Patients showing moderate-to-severe symptoms will be hospitalized at infectious disease hospitals.

People receiving at-home care will be isolated for seven days, down from the current ten, while cohabitants will also be subject to quarantine for seven days.

The government warned that the Omicron variant will account for more than 50 percent of total infections and become dominant over the current Delta variant in a week at the earliest.

In phase zero of the Omicron variant, the government said it would roll out its vaccination campaign in a way that minimizes the number of unvaccinated people.

To this end, the government aims to continue to encourage inoculation of 12- to 17-year-old, while drafting a vaccination plan for children aged five to eleven within next month.

“There are many countries that currently inoculate five to eleven-year-old children,” Im Suk-yeong, managing director of situation at the Central Disease Control Headquarters, said, adding the officials are continuously monitoring related overseas situations.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in Korea is currently reviewing vaccinations for those between the ages of five to eleven, but has not reached any conclusions. There are around three million children in this age group.

Korea on Sunday reported 4,194 new Covid-19 cases, remaining in the 4,000s for five days in a row.

The number slightly decreased by 229 from the day prior, but showed a rise of 823 from last Sunday’s figure.

The number of patients in critical condition stood at 612, with the nationwide occupancy rate of intensive care beds maintaining a stable level at 31.8 percent.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]