[A summarized unofficial version of the press release]

KDCA Lowers COVID-19 Alert Level

Osong, 11^th May 2023 ━ The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced today that the COVID-19 alert level will be lowered from the current ‘critical’ (level 4) to ‘alert’ (level 3) from 1^st June.

(1) Major response measures

With the downgrade of the alert level, the KDCA has also announced the mitigation of the COVID-19 prevention and control measures such as mandatory isolation and indoor-mask wearing requirement.

The 7-day isolation period for a confirmed case will be reduced to 5 days, and isolation will be recommended for a confirmed case but no longer be mandatory. However, isolation measures in medical institutions and infection-vulnerable facilities need to be maintained to protect vulnerable populations.

Indoor-mask wearing will be switched to a recommendation in medical clinics and drug stores. However, mask wearing will remain mandatory in hospital-level medical institutions and infection-vulnerable facilities offering admission.

The mandatory preemptive diagnostic testing imposed once a week upon people working at infection-vulnerable facilities will be mitigated in a way to be applied when necessary: for instance, when those in such facilities show suspected symptoms or many of them are close contacts.

People admitted to such facilities will be allowed to have a meal with their families on a face-to-face visit, as long as infection prevention rules are complied with.

PCR testing for arrivals at the border, recommended to take within three days after arrival, will be lifted.

Mitigating all the response measures mentioned above earlier than 1^st June will be reviewed if relevant administrative processes have been completed fast.

(2) Medical response and government support

The medical response system and government support (e.g. treatment fees, etc.) will be implemented as in the initial plan of the ‘roadmap for COVID-19 alert level adjustment,’ even though major COVID-19 response measures will be mitigated earlier. This is to reduce burdens on people and minimize their health damage. Also, publication of statistics on confirmed cases, currently made on a daily basis, will be done once a week.

(3) COVID-19 surveillance

Importantly, the KDCA will adopt a COVID-19 positive case surveillance system when the class of COVID-19 is lowered from the current Class 2 to Class 4 infectious disease. The system, which will be in operation temporarily until the end of this year, collects clinical data (e.g. gender, age, symptoms, etc.) from COVID-19 positive cases, thus enabling identifying the levels and trends of infections. The system also collects and analyzes pathogenic information, thus making it possible to closely monitor the infection spread.

* For detailed information, please refer to the press release written in the Korean language in the file attached below.