How does South Korea adopt ‘With Corona’ scheme
South Korea planning to live normally with COVID-19 starting from November
Relaxed social distancing may soon be a reality in South Korea
[해외특파원 1기 / 박가영 기자] South Korea plans to change its quarantine policy to the “With Corona ” system starting from late October, since COVID-19 is treated as an infectious respiratory disease like the seasonal influenza, with eased distancing being implemented. Now many believe that COVID-19 will never end, and will be difficult to bring down the cases to zero. The “With Corona” plan expects the quarantine system to focus on only severe patients. This transition is going to be around late October when 80 percent of adults are fully vaccinated. At the latest, the regulations will be put in place in early November.
Some countries have already begun a similar system, including Singapore and UK’s “New Normal” regulation.. Under this new system, there is no strict quarantine and infection tracing. With the regulation in place, people will soon be better off, and the economic recession will be recovered alongside huge amounts of money for medical expenses. Also, Patients whose symptoms are mild will be able to stay and recover at home. They are required 10 days of self-isolation and monitoring through a mobile app.
According to the ministry’s survey, the majority of Koreans favor the idea of having less restrictions and normal life. In the survey, 73 percent of respondents approved of such a strategy known as “living with COVID-19”. However, the government of Korea still highlights the importance of maintaining basic quarantine measures as it is impossible for national medical facilities to handle new daily cases reaching 10,000. Therefore, it is still mandatory for the public to wear face masks.
According to KDCA(Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency), 75 percent of the country’s population have received their first shots of COVID-19 vaccines, and 46.6 percent have been fully vaccinated.
