 |
| ▲ People wait in line to take tests at a makeshift COVID-19 testing center in Seoul on Aug. 20, 2023. (Yonhap) |
S Korea-coronavirus
S. Korea to downgrade COVID-19 infection level to lowest like seasonal flu
SEOUL, Aug. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will lower the infection level of COVID-19 to the lowest category to manage the disease like seasonal flu, lifting nearly all antivirus curbs and fully returning to pre-pandemic normalcy, health authorities said Wednesday.
The move came as the number of COVID-19 infections dropped for the first time in nearly two months last week.
The country reported a daily average of 40,400 new infections for the week of Aug. 15-21, down 17.7 percent from 49,000 a week earlier, snapping seven consecutive weeks of growth.
"The spread of COVID-19, which started in the fourth week of June, has recently slowed down and turned into a decline, and the overall quarantine situation has been stabilized," Jee Young-mee, commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), said in a government meeting.
"It's time to shift our focus from counting daily cases to protecting high-risk populations," she said. "The government will change the COVID-19 infection level from Class 2 to Class 4 and manage it within the general health care system."
The measure, aimed at implementing a full transition to a normal state for the medical system, will take effect on Aug. 31, she added.
Class 4 diseases, the lowest of the country's infection level, which include influenza and hand, foot and mouth disease, require specimen-based surveillance.
Patients infected with Class 2 diseases, like tuberculosis, measles and cholera, are isolated by health authorities.
(END)
(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved
