No Social Distancing for Lunar New Year... "In-Person Visits Allowed at Nursing Facilities" (Comprehensive)

6 Highway Rest Areas Offering Free PCR Testing During the Holiday

Cho Gyu-hong, First Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of Health and Welfare), is presiding over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on the 13th.
[Photo by Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] Following last year's Chuseok, no social distancing measures will be implemented during this year's Seollal holiday either. Face-to-face visits with residents of nursing facilities will be allowed, and use of movie theaters, performance venues, and dining at highway rest areas will also be permitted.

Jo Gyu-hong, 1st Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) and Minister of Health and Welfare, stated in his opening remarks at the CDSCH meeting on the 13th, "The government has prepared a 'Special Seollal Quarantine and Medical Plan' to ensure a safe and healthy Seollal holiday."

First, face-to-face visits with residents of nursing hospitals and facilities will continue to be allowed as before. Physical contact such as holding hands is also permitted. However, visitors must confirm a negative result using a self-diagnosis kit before visiting the facility, and residents may go out only if they have completed vaccination (within 90 days after the 3rd or 4th dose, confirmed COVID-19 infection within 90 days, or received additional winter vaccination).

To enable rapid medical treatment in infection-vulnerable facilities, a medical mobile task force will be operated, and facilities with a high risk of group infections will be selected for on-site inspections. To alleviate congestion at highway rest areas where crowds gather, 9,000 management personnel will be deployed, and congestion levels will be provided in advance via electronic signboards. Enhanced quarantine measures for arrivals from China, Hong Kong, and Macau, which have been in effect since the 2nd, will continue.

The medical system will remain operational during the holiday. Public health center screening clinics (595 locations) and temporary screening clinics (58 locations) will operate normally without reduced hours during the holiday. From the 20th to the 26th, when vehicle movement and inflow are high, temporary screening clinics will be installed and operated at six highway rest areas, and from the 21st to the 24th, anyone who wishes can receive free polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing. The rest areas with temporary screening clinics are Anseong, Icheon, Hwaseong, Baekyangsa, Hampyeongcheonji, and Jinyeong.

Additionally, 5,800 one-stop medical institutions, 150 medical consultation centers, and 248 administrative information centers will operate normally to support smooth home treatment. Oral COVID-19 treatments can be prescribed at designated pharmacies and public health centers (branches) by region, and cold medicine and self-diagnosis kits can be purchased at open pharmacies and convenience stores. To prepare for emergencies such as worsening symptoms in confirmed cases, a home treatment hotline connecting public health centers, emergency medical institutions, and 119 will be operated, and special hospital beds for pediatric, maternity, and dialysis patients will also be available.

Park Hyang, Head of the Quarantine Division at the Central Accident Response Headquarters, said, "We once again urge participation in vaccination and adherence to daily quarantine rules during this Seollal holiday," adding, "The government will ensure that quarantine and medical response systems are thoroughly prepared."