The quarantine authorities have taken a stance that it will be difficult to implement in a short period of time regarding the transition of the quarantine system to 'with Corona'. As the delta mutant virus is prevalent, it is judged as a prerequisite that the vaccination completion rate for the elderly and general adults reaches a high level. It also raised the need to maintain the current quarantine rules even if With Corona is enforced.
In a question-and-answer session after the regular COVID-19 briefing on the 26th, Chung Eun-kyung, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, "In order to change the prevention strategy to with Corona, it is necessary to complete the vaccination rate of over 90% for the elderly and 80% for general adults." In order to go to With Corona, it is interpreted that an inoculation rate close to 100% must be guaranteed. With Corona refers to a quarantine system that focuses on the management of severely severely ill patients instead of focusing on the current control of confirmed cases.
Despite maintaining high-intensity social distancing, the number of confirmed cases shows no sign of falling, and voices about the transition to With Corona are growing throughout society. The government is also considering whether to switch the quarantine system in the future according to this atmosphere.
Park Hyang, head of the quarantine division at the Central Accident Response Headquarters, said at a back briefing held this morning, "We are already thinking about and preparing for a new change in the quarantine system," and "We are sympathizing with the direction." However, he added, "If you look at the cases in Israel and the UK, the number of confirmed cases is increasing even though the vaccination rate has increased considerably.
First of all, the government plans to raise the current primary vaccination rate as much as possible by the end of October. According to the quarantine authorities, the pre-booking rate for the 18-49-year-old vaccine, which started on the same day, was 67.2%. Considering the people who made reservations for another target group (8.14 million people), the authorities explained that 81.5% of the total population aged 18 to 49 will participate in the vaccination.
However, even if the actual transition to the With Corona system is made, social distancing or current quarantine rules will not be eased immediately. “It is necessary to monitor to what extent distances and quarantine rules can be relaxed,” Chung said.
Commissioner Jeong also gave an explanation about With Corona on the same day, saying, "The transition is possible only if we start preparatory work to systematize the quarantine and epidemiological and medical response systems a little more." Accordingly, it is predicted that one of the keys to the transition to Withrocona will be how quickly the conflict with the health and medical union will be resolved.
The government is currently conducting the 11th consultation with the health and medical union. The medical union officially announced on the 19th that it would go on strike on the 2nd of next month if no measures to expand health and medical personnel and public health were prepared. The union is expected to announce the results of the negotiations and general strike voting results around 11 am on the 27th.
In this regard, Park said, "Today, we decided to talk openly enough to say that we should proceed as a final discussion. We will talk more.”
Meanwhile, on the same day, the quarantine authorities also held an invitational briefing session where experts answered questions related to vaccination. The purpose is to further raise the vaccination rate by delivering the correct information in line with the reservations made in advance for those aged 18 to 49 years.
There were also many questions about the side effects that could occur during vaccination. Jeong Jae-hoon, a professor of preventive medicine at Gachon Medical University, who attended the briefing, said, “Even if the vaccination rate for those under 50, who are currently vaccinated, increases by 5 to 10 percent, the direction of the future epidemic can change significantly. "The box has been opened, but there is always hope (vaccination) in it."