Korea to lower status of Covid-19 to that of the common flu

A person tests for Covid-19 at a testing center in Daejeon on Wednesday. The government said the status of Covid-19 will be lowered to that of the flu starting next Thursday. [KIM SEONG-TAE]

Korea will lower the status of Covid-19 to that of the common flu starting next Thursday.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on Wednesday, the government will no longer track daily Covid-19 infections in the country after lowering the classification of the virus two notches from level two to the lowest level four.

The decision comes as the risk of the virus has significantly decreased and as the number of infections dwindles, the KDCA said.

“It is time to switch our goal to take care of high-risk patients rather than to track and manage daily Covid-19 infections,” KDCA Commissioner Jee Young-mee said in Central Disaster Management Headquarters’ regular briefing Wednesday.

“The risk of the coronavirus has dropped to the same level as the flu for healthy people.”

The number of daily Covid-19 infections dropped to 14,570 on Monday, after seeing over 60,000 infections a day earlier in the month.

Despite the government’s lowering of the classification of the Covid-19 virus, however, protective measures for high-risk patients will be maintained.

The government will continue to offer hospital beds for critically ill Covid-19 patients.

Indoor mask mandates at hospitals and residential medical facilities will also be maintained.

The restrictions will be recommended only after conducting consistent monitoring and consulting with experts, the KDCA said.

Services and financial support for Covid-19 patients will be downsized.

The government will no longer offer non-face-to-face services for Covid-19 patients to see the doctor and treat the virus.

Patients will now also need to pay the entire cost of coronavirus tests, such as PCR and RAT, except for inpatients and those prescribed Covid-19 pills.

The country will maintain operating screening clinics for Covid-19 at local community centers but will only offer complimentary coronavirus tests for those prioritized to take a PCR test, including those at or over the age of 60 and people working at infection-prone facilities.

Only critically ill Covid-19 patients in hospitals will receive partially subsidized treatment through the end of the year. Currently, all hospitalized patients receive subsidized treatment.

Covid-19 pills and vaccines will still be free.

"Although Covid-19 will be classified as level 4 infection, high-risk groups, including the elderly and those with low immunity, still need protection from the virus," KDCA Commissioner Jee said.

The Covid-19 virus was once classified as a top-tier virus, requiring negative pressure isolation of patients and immediate reports of outbreaks due to high fatality rates.

It was taken down a notch to level two in April last year as the number of new infections stabilized and the majority of the public received additional vaccinations.

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