On the afternoon of the 27th, a notice is posted at a store in Myeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, notifying the mandatory wearing of a mask. yunhap news
It is highly likely that the ‘outdoor mask release’ will be delayed by about a month. This is because President Ahn Cheol-soo, chairman of the Presidential Transition, announced the ‘Corona Emergency Response 100-Day Roadmap’ and nailed it, saying, “It will be decided at the end of May whether to declare an outdoor mask free or not.” Since the roadmap to be applied in the new government has been presented like this, the quarantine authorities who are trying to lift the duty to wear an outdoor mask from next week are in trouble.
Because of this, some criticize Ahn Cheol-soo’s scientific quarantine. When he said that he would do scientific quarantine in contrast to K quarantine after defining it as a political quarantine, he meant that he was going to get rid of unnecessary excessive regulation. However, it is even pointed out that trying to extend the mandatory outdoor mask wearing for about a month, which is said to have no significant effect, is not a political quarantine that the new government wants to declare a mask free in the end.
When will outdoor masks and quarantine obligations be lifted?
Chairman Ahn released the ‘Corona Emergency Response 100-Day Roadmap’ that was finalized by the Health and Medical Division of the Special Committee on Corona Emergency Response of the Transition Committee at the Presidential Takeover Committee in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 27th.
According to the roadmap, the new government will review the timing of the declaration of outdoor mask free within 30 days of its inauguration. Regarding the current government’s plan to announce the outdoor mask policy on the 29th as scheduled, Chairman Ahn said, “I have advised that it is right to make a decision in late May, so I will wait and see.”
The quarantine authorities, who have repeatedly said that ‘outdoor masks are not very effective at the moment’ in the face of threats to power in the future, are also significantly lowering the level of their remarks. Son Young-rae, head of the social strategy division of the Central Accident Remediation Headquarters of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, only mentioned that “we will comprehensively review and announce various opinions, including those suggested by the takeover committee.”
President Ahn Cheol-soo, chairman of the Presidential Transition Committee, announces the ‘Corona 19 Emergency Response 100-Day Roadmap’ confirmed by the Health and Medical Division of the Special Committee on the Corona Emergency Response of the Transition Committee at the joint press conference of the 20th Presidential Transition Committee in Toongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 27th. Reporter Seo Jae-hoon
The same is true for lifting the 7-day quarantine for confirmed patients. According to the current government’s post-omicron response system, the quarantine ‘duty’ will be changed to ‘recommendation’ around the 23rd of next month, when the transition from the ‘transition period’ to the ‘settlement period’. The transition committee also said that it would decide on this issue within 100 days of the new government taking office. The release schedule for quarantine is also likely to change.
The transition committee’s announcement of scientific quarantine was taken to mean that it would not impose uniform regulations that cause inconvenience to the public without any basis. However, regarding the outdoor mask and quarantine of confirmed patients, the transition committee also seems to be delaying the release schedule without clear evidence or explanation.
There is no difference in the countermeasures against a new epidemic this fall
Experts pointed out that as a bigger problem, there is no concrete plan to prepare for a re-invasion expected around this fall. This means that 100 days after the inauguration of the new government should be a ‘golden time’ for dealing with a new epidemic. It is necessary to create a response system to decrease immunity and the appearance of new mutations. As the experience of the past two years has shown, the key is to solve the problem of hospital beds and manpower.
However, the countermeasures for the outbreak specified in the roadmap were limited to △expansion of 7,700 corona beds that can be dealt with at all times, △training nurses dedicated to critical care patients, and △disposing medical resources in a timely and appropriate manner. There is no significant difference from the contents so far. The level of preparation for the daily medical system is an extension of the current measures, such as △expansion of respiratory clinics, △addition of 1,400 emergency treatment beds, and △security of emergency rooms as a base for responding to coronavirus in each region.
Compensation for vaccine damage that has not yet met expectations
The roadmap included the △National Antibody Positive Rate Survey △Corona 19 Big Data Platform Construction, which will be a means of scientific quarantine. However, it is unclear when and how much this project will be reflected in the actual quarantine. Chairman Ahn said, “We will not do this by issuing an order to ban gatherings for all specific industries. However, it has not been specifically stated how the changes will be made.
On the afternoon of the 24th, the first weekend after social distancing was lifted, Banpo Hangang Park in Seocho-gu, Seoul is crowded with citizens. News 1
Compensation for vaccine damage, which was expected to show the most forward-looking attitude, is also difficult to grasp. Considering the risk of a re-emergence of the corona virus, the possibility of periodic vaccination of vaccines is being raised, so appropriate compensation for vaccine damage is considered an important driving force for quarantine policy.
The transition committee said that it would compensate for ‘relevance’ beyond ‘causality’ of vaccination, but specific details were omitted from the roadmap. However, it was decided to raise the limit of medical expenses and death compensation for diseases for which causality was not recognized from 30 million won to 50 million won and 50 million won to 100 million won, respectively. Although it has improved, it is somewhat far from the demands of the victims who want ‘widely recognition of causality’.
Kim Yoon, a professor of medical management at Seoul National University College of Medicine, said, “The new government has not been able to come up with a specific plan for quarantine and medical response through the roadmap.
Im So-hyung reporter precare@hankookilbo.com
