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| A monitor at the disaster control center in Songpa District Office, Seoul, shows an all-time high of 49,567 new COVID-19 infections for Tuesday. Yonhap |
Daily infections hit fresh high of 49,567
By Lee Hyo-jin
Starting Thursday, low-risk COVID-19 patients who are under home treatment will no longer receive daily health checkup calls from medical workers, under the revised treatment system that focuses more on high-risk patients.
As the country grapples with record-breaking numbers of infections fueled by the Omicron variant, the government has decided to implement a new home treatment scheme, in an effort to mobilize available medical resources more effectively.
But the new scheme has drawn concerns among those classified as "low-risk," as they are virtually left on their own to monitor their health condition and contact a hospital if their symptoms worsen.
As the highly transmissible Omicron variant has begun to show its full force here, Korea saw yet another record-high daily infection caseload for Tuesday at 49,567, a jump from 38,689 reported the previous day, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
The number of patients undergoing home treatment soared to over 168,000, going beyond 166,000, or the maximum capacity the government can handle.
But the worst is yet to come, as the number of patients in self-care could reach as many as 1 million by March, according to KDCA chief Jeong Eun-kyeong.
Overwhelmed by the surging cases, the government has decided to revise its home treatment scheme to concentrate more on patients who are at higher risk of falling into critical condition.
Under the new measures, patients aged 60 and above, and those in their 50s with chronic illnesses ― diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney diseases, chronic lung diseases, cancer and obesity (those with a body mass index of 25 or higher) ― are classified as high-risk, requiring daily monitoring by public health officials.
All patients under the age of 50, regardless of whether they have pre-existing health conditions, are classified as low-risk. Instead of daily checkup calls by health officials, they must self-monitor their own condition and contact local clinics for remote consultations if their symptoms worsen.
Until now, home kits that include a thermometer, an oximeter, medicine, self-test kits and other protective equipment, were delivered to all patients undergoing home quarantine. But provision of the kits will now be limited to those in the high-risk group only.
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| Public officials prepare home kits for delivery to COVID-19 patients undergoing home treatment, at Suwon City Hall in Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. Joint Press Corps |
These new measures have sparked concerns over the insufficient monitoring of low-risk patients, who account for about 80 percent of the total number of patients undergoing home care.
Although experts believe that this approach seems inevitable, as cases are expected to surge to unprecedented levels, they have expressed concerns that vulnerable groups, such as children and younger people with chronic illnesses or preexisting conditions, along with unvaccinated people, have not been included in the priority group.
On Feb. 7, a 17-year-old boy living in the southern city of Gwangju died four days after being released from COVID-19 home treatment, marking the first coronavirus-linked death among teenagers in the country.
The cause of his death was found to be a pulmonary embolism caused by the virus, drawing criticism that the authorities had failed to monitor his health condition thoroughly during the seven-day self-treatment period.
"COVID-19 infections have a wide range of symptoms, meaning that any patient could suffer from unexpected symptoms. In particular, obesity increases the risk of severe illnesses, regardless of the patient's age," said Kim Woo-joo, an infectious disease professor at Korea University Guro Hospital, who insisted that all patients with chronic illnesses should be categorized as part of the high-risk group.
