Fourth COVID-19 Vaccine Dose Recipients Allowed to Leave or Stay Overnight Outside Nursing Facilities
Starting tomorrow, the mandatory PCR test on the first day after entry for overseas arrivals will be lifted. From the 4th of next month, in-person visits to nursing hospitals and facilities will also resume.
Ki-il Lee, the 1st Senior Coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (Vice Minister of Health and Welfare), announced during the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting on the 30th, "From 0:00 on October 1st, the mandatory PCR test within one day after entry will be lifted."
Accordingly, following the earlier lifting of quarantine requirements for arrivals and the removal of pre-entry testing, this measure means that all COVID-19 quarantine measures related to entry into the country will be eliminated. Those who wish to be tested within three days after entry can receive a free PCR test at public health centers.
The 1st Senior Coordinator stated, "The COVID-19 positivity rate among overseas arrivals has decreased from 1.3% in August to 0.9% this month, and the fatality rate of the currently dominant BA.5 variant is also declining. However, if a variant with a higher fatality rate emerges requiring strengthened entry controls, we will consider reintroducing (PCR testing)."
According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, the number of new COVID-19 cases reported today is in the 28,000 range, bringing the total number of people who have experienced COVID-19 infection to 24.77 million, which is 48% of the entire population. The infection reproduction number is 0.80, marking five consecutive weeks below 1.
The government has decided to allow contact visits again from the 4th of next month at infection-vulnerable facilities such as nursing hospitals and facilities, where visits have been restricted since July 25 due to the resurgence of COVID-19. Visitors can have face-to-face visits with inpatients or residents at nursing hospitals and facilities anytime after confirming a negative result with a self-diagnosis kit before the visit. Masks must be worn during visits, and consumption of food and drinks should be avoided.
If elderly residents at nursing hospitals and facilities have completed their 4th vaccination, outings and overnight stays will also be permitted. Until now, outings were only allowed for outpatient medical treatment. External programs at nursing hospitals and facilities can resume if conducted by instructors who meet requirements such as having received the 3rd vaccination.
The 1st Senior Coordinator explained, "Considering that the number of cluster infections in infection-vulnerable facilities decreased by 64%, from 3,015 in August to 1,075 in September, and that the 4th vaccination rate at nursing hospitals and facilities is very high at 90.3%, we have eased quarantine measures at infection-vulnerable facilities."
The government plans to focus on infection control management at schools and youth facilities, where teenagers with high infection rates mainly live, in preparation for the possibility of simultaneous outbreaks of influenza and COVID-19 this winter.
The 1st Senior Coordinator said, "COVID-19 is now entering its final stage. Although one wave of infection is expected this winter, we will ultimately overcome COVID-19. We will prepare necessary measures in advance."
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