Management of future infectious diseases: eight recommendations for national quarantine

Abstract

Background: Republic of Korea (ROK) has coped well with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) without requiring an extreme containment policy. However, it is necessary to evaluate issues revealed during the COVID-19 quarantine process.Current Concepts: In the quarantine policy, the legal and scientific basis for quarantine, role of ministries in charge, government-wide support, fairness of quarantine measures, protection of vulnerable people, compensation for vaccination damage, and quarantine budget are important. Discussion and Conclusion: As a result of reviewing the COVID-19 quarantine process, the following issues were found. First, COVID-19 was not properly designated as a first-class infectious disease under the InfectiousDisease Control and Prevention Act. Second, the major direction of the quarantine policy did not reflect ROK’s objective scientific capabilities. Third, quarantine measures did not reflect the relative risk of infection. Fourth, the professional and objective judgments of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency were not respected by other Government officers. Fifth, the fairness of the quarantine policy was greatly undermined. Sixth, the vulnerable and those caring for them were marginalized. Seventh, the purpose of the vaccination damage compensation system of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act was not well reflected. Eighth, the quarantine policy was ignored in allocation of the national budget. To properly respond to future infectious diseases, ROK must address issues that emerged during the COVID-19 quarantine process.