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Today’s WHO Corona Emergency… Will the emergency end now?

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A meeting to discuss whether to lift the global Corona 19 emergency, which has been going on for three years, begins. The quarantine authorities are in the position that whether or not the emergency is lifted is only a reference, and the quarantine policy can be adjusted according to the epidemic situation in Korea.

According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the 4th, the World Health Organization (WHO) Corona 19 International Health Regulations Emergency Committee will be held this afternoon (local time).

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The biggest concern of this meeting is whether or not the Corona 19 emergency will be lifted. Previously, the committee held a meeting in January, but agreed to maintain the international state of emergency.

This meeting does not hold a vote, but when the members present their opinions, the chairperson gathers the opinions and reports them to WHO. In Korea, Ji Young-mi, the head of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has been serving as a member of the committee since 2020, before taking office as head of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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The outcome of the meeting is expected to be released early next week at the earliest.

At the time of the meeting in January, there were concerns about a surge in the epidemic from China, but now that Corona 19 remains stable worldwide, weight is being placed on lifting the state of emergency.

If the Corona 19 emergency is lifted, it will be three years and four months since the first emergency declaration in January 2020.

If a conclusion is drawn from the WHO, Korea will decide whether to further ease quarantine measures after the crisis assessment meeting.

The government has already announced a step-by-step recovery plan in March. The first step, the first step, includes the downgrading of the current “severe” stage of the Corona 19 crisis to “warning”.

In this case, the Pan-governmental Corona 19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Critical Response Headquarters) presided over by the Prime Minister will be dismantled, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare Central Accident Handling Headquarters (Heavy Response Headquarters) and the Agency for Disease Control and Prevention will focus on Corona 19 quarantine. will respond

At this stage, the mandatory quarantine period for confirmed COVID-19 patients, which is currently 7 days, will be shortened to 5 days.

In the second stage, the legal infectious disease grade of Corona 19 is lowered to the same level 4 as the flu, and total surveillance is changed to sample surveillance. The obligation to wear indoor masks and quarantine confirmed patients is lifted, and as the medical response to COVID-19 is switched to the general medical system, examination and treatment costs are partially charged.

Authorities believe that a preparation period of about 2 to 3 months will be required from the first stage conversion to the second stage.

In the third stage, Corona 19 is managed like other general infectious diseases and there is no special organization within the government. Authorities expect the third stage adjustment to be in the first half of next year.

Initially, the authorities planned to adjust quarantine measures in line with the WHO’s lifting of the Corona 19 emergency, but recently, considering the stabilization of the epidemic, they are considering applying quarantine measures tailored to the domestic situation even if the emergency is maintained.

In a briefing on April 26, Lim Sook-young, head of situation management at Bangdaebon, said, “If the WHO declares the lifting of the public health emergency, it has important meaning because it can be seen as a signal that the risk of corona19 infection has decreased worldwide, but the WHO The thing to consider is the quarantine situation around the world, and the situation in Korea may be different,” he said.

In Korea, despite the lifting of social distancing, quarantine passes, mandatory isolation of contacts, and indoor/outdoor mask obligations excluding medical institutions and facilities vulnerable to infection, the average number of confirmed cases per day for the past week has remained stable at 14,000. The number of patients hospitalized with Corona 19 is about 20 per day, and the number of severely ill patients is about 140.

Director Lim said the day before, “Considering the time taken for the results to be sorted out after the emergency committee meeting, we expect to announce the results around next week.” ” he said.

Source: Donga

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