Self-treatment launched in South Korea for mild cases

The rate of vaccination against COVID-19 is displayed in the form of a temperature tower at an intersection in Gwangjin-gu district, Seoul in South Korea on January 12. Photo: VCG

South Korea launched a self-treatment scheme for patients with mild coronavirus symptoms in order to free up medical resources for more serious cases, as new infections hit a fresh high on Thursday due to the fast spreading Omicron variant.

South Korea has largely been a COVID-19 mitigation success story, thanks to aggressive testing and tracing, social distancing and mask wearing.

But as the highly infectious but less deadly Omicron variant began spreading, the government in February started to shift its strategy away from testing and tracing and towards self-monitoring, diagnosis and at-home treatment.

From Thursday, authorities were expected to only provide care to COVID-19 patients aged 60 and older or with underlying conditions, while others monitor themselves and seek medical help from designated clinics if their conditions worsen.

Medical kits including an oxygen saturation measurement device, a thermometer and a fever remedy - previously available to all patients who treat themselves at home - would now be distributed only to priority groups.

Officials have estimated around 13.5 percent of new cases would be classified as high risk groups.

The government had already scrapped contact tracing and mandatory self-isolation reports based on global positioning system technology.

South Korea's daily number of new cases hit another record of 54,122 Wednesday, bringing its total infections to 1,185,361, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said.

Reuters