Quarantining: a mentally distressful but physically comfortable experience in South Korea.

OBJECTIVE: Quarantine is the first response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Restricting daily life can cause several problems. This study aimed to measure the impact of the COVID-19 quarantine on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) by comparing to the pre-pandemic. METHODS: HRQoL during COVID-19 quarantine was surveyed online using EQ-5D index and matched to that of the pre-pandemic-extracted from nationwide representative data of the Korea Community Health Survey- with propensity scores. A beta regression for the EQ-5D scores and a logistic analysis for individual dimensions of the EQ-5D index were performed to measure the impact of the COVID-19 quarantine on health utility. RESULTS: The overall scores of the EQ-5D index were significantly higher in the group under quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic (0.971 SD 0.064) than those before the pandemic (0.964 SD 0.079, Diff. 0.007 SD 0.101, p = 0.043). The beta regression for the overall scores of EQ-5D revealed that quarantining during the COVID-19 pandemic increased by 52.7% compared to normal life before the outbreak(p = 0.045). Specifically, "Depression/Anxiety" deteriorated significantly during quarantining (OR = 0.62, 95% CI:0.48-0.80). However, "Pain/Discomfort" and "Mobility" significantly improved (OR = 5.37, 95% CI:3.71-7.78 and OR = 2.05, 95% CI:1.11-3.80, respectively). CONCLUSION: Although the world is facing a challenging moment that it has never been through before, mandatory quarantine has served as an experience that provided mental distress but physical comfort in the Korean context.

Coronavirus Disease Outbreak in Call Center, South Korea.

We describe the epidemiology of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in a call center in South Korea. We obtained information on demographic characteristics by using standardized epidemiologic investigation forms. We performed descriptive analyses and reported the results as frequencies and proportions for categoric variables. Of 1,143 persons who were tested for COVID-19, a total of 97 (8.5%, 95% CI 7.0%-10.3%) had confirmed cases. Of these, 94 were working in an 11th-floor call center with 216 employees, translating to an attack rate of 43.5% (95% CI 36.9%-50.4%). The household secondary attack rate among symptomatic case-patients was 16.2% (95% CI 11.6%- 22.0%). Of the 97 persons with confirmed COVID-19, only 4 (1.9%) remained asymptomatic within 14 days of quarantine, and none of their household contacts acquired secondary infections. Extensive contact tracing, testing all contacts, and early quarantine blocked further transmission and might be effective for containing rapid outbreaks in crowded work settings.

Depression During COVID-19 Quarantine in South Korea: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Quarantine, a public health measure used to control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, has been linked to an increased risk of developing adverse psychological sequelae. This study sought to investigate whether quarantining during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with depression among Koreans. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Seoul COVID-19 Study of Quarantine (SCS-Q) and the 2019 Korea Community Health Survey (KCHS). Using propensity scores estimated based on sociodemographic and health conditions, 919 individuals undergoing quarantine in the SCS-Q were matched with 919 individuals who did not experience quarantine in the 2019 KCHS. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Korean version of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), where major depression is defined as a PHQ-9 score ≥ 10. Logistic regression models were adjusted for sociodemographic and health-related factors. RESULTS: Depression prevalence was higher in quarantined individuals than in the control group (7.8 vs. 3.8%, p < 0.001). Logistic regression analyses revealed that quarantining was associated with higher likelihoods of having major depression [odds ratio (OR) = 2.28, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.49, 3.51] after adjusting for relevant covariates. LIMITATIONS: Due to the online nature of the SCS-Q, this study included a limited number of elderly participants, limiting the generalizability of the findings to the general Korean population. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that Koreans undergoing COVID-19 quarantine are at higher risk of depression. While further investigation is warranted, public health measures to control infectious disease outbreaks, such as quarantine, would benefit from incorporating strategies to address unintended adverse psychological effects, such as depression.