Mandatory quarantine to be cut to five days from May

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Mandatory quarantine to be cut to five days from May

Published: 29 Mar. 2023, 18:51

Health officials sit at an empty government-run Covid-19 screening clinic in Jung District, central Seoul, on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

Anyone who tests positive for Covid-19 will have to quarantine for five days, not seven, from early May.

The mandate could be entirely lifted in July, meaning that people won't have to isolate even if they come down with the virus.

Under the current system, patients must report their infection to local health authorities and quarantine for a week. If they refuse to isolate, they face up to a year in prison or 10 million won ($7,700) in fines.

The mask mandate for high-risk facilities could also be lifted in July.

Since March 20, the Korean government has allowed people to unmask on public transportation, but masks are still required at hospitals, pharmacies, nursing homes, welfare centers for the disabled and mental health centers.

Visitors to pharmacies in large supermarkets or subway stations, however, do not have to wear masks.

If the mandate for these locations is lifted, masks would no longer be required anywhere.

Health authorities announced the forthcoming changes Wednesday as part of the government's latest move to "return to normalcy."

While introducing Korea's "three-stage roadmap" for the coronavirus in a press briefing, Jee Young-mee, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency commissioner, said the current "stable" state of the pandemic was expected to continue even if sporadic surges appear going forward.

Covid vaccinations and treatments have reduced the severity and fatality rates of infected patients to less than 5 percent of what they were early on in the pandemic, Joo continued, in an apparent attempt to quell public concern that the lifting of restrictions was premature.

According to data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 13,134 people tested positive for the coronavirus in Korea on Tuesday, nearly half of whom were in Seoul or Gyeonggi. The daily average over the past week was 10,136, with 23 hospitalized per day on average.

Even if the quarantine and mask mandates are lifted, officials said they would continue to recommend isolating and masking until at least next year.

Each stage in the government's three-stage roadmap comes with slightly different measures. The higher the stage, the fewer the restrictions and the smaller the government support offered to the public for testing and treatment.

Health officials said Wednesday the government was likely to declare the country's entry into the first stage in May, the second in July and the third in 2024.

In the first stage, the government will stop releasing daily reports on coronavirus trends in favor of weekly reports. The country's infectious disease classification for the coronavirus will be downgraded from the current Level 4 to Level 3 for the first time in nearly three years.

In the second stage, the government will stop running so-called Covid screening clinics, which means anyone who wishes to get tested for the virus will have to visit a nearby clinic or hospital. Government support on hospital fees will be provided only in severe cases, as opposed to the current system that provides support to all hospitalized patients.

In the third stage, the government stops tracking Covid cases and halts most administrative and financial support.

BY YI WOO-RIM, LEE SUNG-EUN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]