No UK-style "with COVID-19" for Korea, government says

Disease control authorities are exploring pathways for a gradual return to everyday life rather than sudden loosening of restrictions, breaking from the UK's example

Liverpool supporters cheer during the English Premier League match against Norwich City on Aug. 14. (AFP/Yonhap News)

With the South Korean government expected to begin discussing a full-scale loosening of COVID-19 control measures after the extended Chuseok holiday this month, disease control authorities announced plans to explore approaches for a “gradual return to everyday life,” while stressing that this would not be a “with COVID-19” approach along UK lines.

“The term ‘with COVID-19’ is used in different senses, and we sometimes hear it used to refer to getting rid of distancing and regarding confirmed cases as unimportant,” said Son Young-rae, director of the Central Disaster Management Headquarters social strategy group, in a briefing Monday.

The same day, the administration eased some of its disease control measures, increasing the number of people permitted to take part in private gatherings while also extending the current social distancing levels for another four weeks.

Amid growing hopes that this might be a step toward a “with COVID-19” approach, the administration moved to shut down that discussion out of concerns that people might drop their guard against the virus.

“Stabilization of the current scale [of daily confirmed cases] will be a precondition for considering that approach,” Son said.

“We’re currently seeing hospital bed and intensive care usage rates of 60–70 percent, and there’s a risk that if we begin a trend of easing up on disease control, there will be an immediate rise in transmission numbers, which will translate directly into issues such as a shortage of hospital beds,” he said.

“The return to everyday life is something that will need to be pursued gradually over a long period of time as more people are vaccinated and the rates of severe symptoms and deaths decrease,” he added. “There’s not going to be any large-scale loosening or elimination of distancing all at once.”

In particular, Son added that South Korea would not be following in the footsteps of the UK, which is seen as one of the leading examples of a “with COVID-19” approach.

After a four-stage process beginning in March, the UK moved in July to lift all restrictions on gatherings and the operation of business establishments, including nightclubs; the use of masks became optional.

As of Friday, 63.41 percent of the UK population had been fully vaccinated. Since then, new daily confirmed cases have been in the range of 30,000 to 40,000, while daily deaths have hovered around 100.

“If that’s the kind of change that we call ‘with COVID-19,’ it’s going to be tough for us to accept. We don’t see that as desirable,” Son said.

Experts have already been working on suggesting concrete visions for a gradual transition toward a “with COVID-19” approach.

Kim Yoon, a Seoul National University professor of health policy and management shared a proposal at a National Assembly roundtable on Friday on the topic of “preparing for a sustainable K-disease control 2.0.”

In it, he suggested a gradual easing of distancing, combined with expansions in hospital beds and healthcare staff and stronger capabilities in terms of testing, tracing and quarantining, while monitoring the number of severe and critical cases.

“Nobody is saying right now that we should be doing things the UK’s way, but the direction in the UK and Singapore right now is one where they’re transitioning toward focusing on managing severe cases rather than [all] confirmed cases,” he noted.

“The administration will need to present [a roadmap] no later than directly following the Chuseok holiday for us to spend the month of October preparing and start implementation in November,” he said.

Choi Won-suk, a professor of preventive medicine at Korea University Ansan Hospital, said, “We need an approach where we’re gradually reducing the measures that pose major social and economic burdens compared with relatively low risks.”

“We can expect to see things like increasing the number of allowable people at private gatherings and the sorts of places [where they meet], whereas lifting mask requirements will need to be the very last step,” he said.

By Kim Ji-hoon, staff reporter

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