[WORD_ON_THE_WEB] 'There’s no logic in blindly enforcing restrictions'

As the number of new Covid-19 cases continues to rise, the government’s medical response system is reaching its limits. Medical supplies are almost in short supply. The government plans to announce new quarantine measures on Friday in response to the situation.

Adding to the confusion, an error occurred on Wednesday during the Covid-19 tallying process. The number of new Covid-19 cases was reported at 440,000 as of 9. a.m., but it was later confirmed at 400,741. The difference was more than 40,000 cases.

Some analysts are concerned that the medical system is nearing breaking point.

Jacob Lee, professor of infectious diseases at Hallym University Gangnam Sacred Heart Hospital, wrote on Facebook that “there’s never been a flu outbreak with 400,000 new cases a day. Even if it was just flu, the medical system is bound to collapse with that many cases in one day."

#making_up_the_numbers
“It would have been insignificant if one or two cases were miscounted. But 40,000? That equates to an entire district. Who’s gonna believe the statistics now, when the authorities are so untrustworthy?”
“Everyone was confused by the number, worried about the new cases being more than 500,000... And then come up with this sloppy excuse about the tally system malfunctioning? These numbers are unreliable.”

#no_more_quarantine
“Covid-19 should be treated as a flu at this point. There’s no logic in blindly enforcing restrictions now. Everyone is at their limit after three years of quarantine. We should return to our daily lives now.”
“The quarantine should be lifted while the Omicron variant is prevalent, to pave the way for herd immunity. There’s no point in strict quarantine any more.”

#need_more_rules
“Fatalities are not the only thing to take into consideration. What kind of flu affects 400,000 people a day? How do we control this?”
“As much as I want to go out, I think it’ll be the best if they lift the quarantine after the peak.”
“We need strict quarantine measures. The government’s doing the opposite of what they should. They relieve the quarantine when it's needed. Then, they tighten it when it should be lifted.”

BY LEE SI-YEOUNG, YOO JI-WOO [yoo.jiwoo@joongang.co.kr]