Jeong Gi-seok on Daejeon City and Chungnam Province Considering Mask Mandate Lift: "Not at the Peak Yet"

"If Severe Patients Occur, That Area Cannot Accommodate All"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byeon Seon-jin] Jeong Gi-seok, head of the COVID-19 Special Response Team and member of the National Infectious Disease Crisis Response Advisory Committee, firmly stated that there is absolutely no reason to lift indoor mask mandates during this winter's resurgence. Following Daejeon City, Chungnam Province is also considering lifting the indoor mask-wearing obligation on the 5th, making indoor mask-wearing a hot topic.

At a briefing held at the Government Seoul Office on the morning of the 5th, Chairman Jeong said, "For example, if a certain region lifts the mandate and a large number of patients occur, that region probably won't be able to accommodate all patients. They would have to be sent to other regions, but what fault do those regions have?" He added, "It is somewhat more desirable for our country to proceed consistently regarding quarantine measures."

He said, "Whether masks are removed sequentially or all at once, infections will inevitably increase," and "as infections rise, severe cases and deaths will inevitably increase. No citizen would be okay with people dying or becoming critically ill." He continued, "When indoor masks are lifted immediately, one cannot help but think, 'Shouldn't someone be responsible for the high-risk groups who suffer such unfair deaths and hardships?' Therefore, it is the right approach to be cautious about lifting mask mandates."

Regarding the recent easing of the 7th wave's spread, Chairman Jeong said, "We need to look at the indicators of severe patients and deaths, which are not decreasing," and added, "Hidden infections are also increasing as people avoid testing in the '3-dense' environments typical of winter," emphasizing that it is still too early to be complacent.

One reason it is difficult to lift indoor mask mandates at this time is the 'twindemic' factor. Chairman Jeong said, "Influenza is currently increasing significantly among elementary, middle, and high school students, with 33 cases per 1,000 among elementary students and 42 per 1,000 among middle and high school students. The school term is ongoing," and predicted, "If the mask mandate is lifted before the vacation and students remove masks at school, a massive influenza outbreak will occur." He added, "(Students who are sick) will inevitably show much more academic setbacks," and "it is naturally expected that children will catch the flu at school, go home, and spread it again."

Chairman Jeong believes that indoor mask mandates can only be reconsidered once vaccination rates and oral treatment prescription rates increase beyond current levels. He said, "The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency aims for at least 50% vaccination coverage among all citizens aged 60 and over, and over 60% among residents and workers in vulnerable facilities. At that level, more than half of those groups can be protected," and added, "the prescription rate of the currently available effective antiviral drugs and treatments must also increase." Regarding the slow increase in vaccination rates, he mentioned reasons such as breakthrough infections and side effects, stating, "The updated vaccine protects against BA.5, the dominant strain in Korea. It is currently effective," and emphasized, "Side effects are one-tenth of those of the previous vaccines."

Chairman Jeong stressed, "The peak of the 7th wave has not yet passed. Rather than waiting for and predicting the peak, it is more appropriate to observe whether the numbers of severe patients and deaths will drop below 200 and 20, respectively."