The government will reduce the quarantine period for COVID-19 patients, once omicron becomes the dominant strain in the country.

At a press briefing on Friday, officials said if a majority of cases become omicron, which is expected to happen in about a week, quarantine will drop from the current ten days to seven with patients adhering to quarantine rules for another three days after that.

Those who came into close contact with a patient will undergo a PCR test on the sixth day following the most recent contact, and if they test negative, they will be released from quarantine on day seven.

In preparation for an explosive acceleration of omicron transmissions, local private medical facilities will begin to offer rapid antigen tests, instead of the PCR test, as well as treatment.

PCR test priority will be given to those at high risk for infection, such as those with symptoms, seniors aged 65 or older, those who came into contact with a patient, or those who tested positive on an antigen test.

Before daily cases reach five-thousand or omicron becomes the majority variant, authorities plan to focus on curbing its spread. They are currently reviewing expanding vaccinations to children aged five to eleven and a second booster for those at high risk.