Korea to lift more Covid regulations even as cases surge

Staffers at a screening clinic in Daegu chat with masks and face shields on July 6. [YONHAP]

Korea will relax more of its quarantine measures for Covid-19 as early as next month despite the surging number of confirmed cases.

The government will lower Covid-19 to a “Class 4" infectious disease, the lowest level in the four-tier classification system. It is currently at Class 2.

After the level drop, authorities will treat Covid-19 just like the flu.

Class 2 infectious diseases include tuberculosis and cholera, while Class 4 infectious diseases include influenza and hand-foot-and-mouth disease.

The indoor mask mandate for hospitals and residential medical facilities will also be lifted.

However, the Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) highly recommends patients at high risk, including senior patients and those with underlying conditions, to wear masks in populated areas.

The country will no longer announce the daily number of positive cases and fatalities but will provide weekly numbers based on samples, such as the percentage of Covid-19 patients among patients hospitalized with acute respiratory diseases in sampled hospitals.

The government will also stop operating screening clinics for Covid-19 at local community health centers.

Patients will have to pay the entire cost of coronavirus tests, such as PCR and RAT.

PCR tests are currently free, while the RAT costs 5,000 won ($3.90).

However, Covid-19 vaccines and pills will still be free.

Financial support for Covid-19 inpatients will also be downsized.

Only critically ill Covid-19 patients in hospitals will receive partially subsidized treatment. Currently, all hospitalized patients receive subsidized treatment.

The moves come as the country experiences a rising number of Covid-19 confirmed cases.

The average daily coronavirus cases from last Tuesday to this Monday was 38,809, up around 38 percent from the previous week.

The numbers exceeded 40,000 from last Tuesday through Sunday. Last Wednesday’s 47,029 cases was the highest figure in about six months since January 17.

The daily number of Covid-19 cases has been rising since the last week of June.

However, the KDCA believes the current situation is not serious enough to postpone the further relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions.

Health authorities believe the disease will become completely endemic by April next year.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]