Three Days Before Indoor Mask Mandate Lift... Gyms and Cafes Say "Please Wear Masks"? [Q&A]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byeon Seon-jin] The indoor mask mandate, excluding hospitals, pharmacies, and public transportation, is just three days away from being lifted. Starting at 0:00 on the 30th, mask-wearing in most indoor spaces will shift from mandatory to recommended. However, indoor mask-wearing will remain mandatory in spaces requiring protection for high-risk groups, and mask use is strongly recommended for suspected COVID-19 patients, contacts, and in 3M environments (closed, crowded, close-contact). Based on explanations from health authorities, the specific places where masks must be worn mandatorily are summarized in a Q&A format.

Mask [Image source=Yonhap News]

Q. Where are masks mandatory?

- Masks must be worn inside public transportation such as buses, railways, subways, passenger ships, ferries, and airplanes. However, masks are not required before boarding public transportation, such as in elevators or escalators, and no fines will be imposed there. Although taxis are not legally classified as public transportation, they are included in indoor mask mandate facilities due to the 3M environment.

Mask-wearing remains mandatory in infection-vulnerable facilities such as nursing hospitals, long-term care institutions, mental health promotion facilities, and welfare facilities for the disabled. Senior welfare centers and senior citizen centers are not included in the scope of infection-vulnerable facilities.

Q. Why do health authorities use the term ‘recommendation’ instead of ‘lifting’ the indoor mask mandate?

- Health authorities believe that the COVID-19 situation is not over, and the protective effect and necessity of mask-wearing remain. Previously, a legal obligation imposed a fine of 100,000 KRW for not wearing a mask in mandatory places, but this legal obligation is now removed. Authorities ask that even though the mask mandate changes to a recommendation, individuals continue to practice personal hygiene measures such as mask-wearing, handwashing, and ventilation.

Q. Some businesses, like gyms, where the mask mandate is lifted, plan to keep masks mandatory as a business policy. What about that?

- Health authorities recommend mask-wearing in environments where many people gather closely and droplets can spread easily, or where ventilation is difficult. However, authorities cannot intervene in businesses that decide to set their own infection control policies.

Q. Is it possible that indoor mask-wearing could become mandatory again?

It is considered unlikely that a rapid resurgence due to a new variant, like during the early Omicron wave, will occur. Unless the situation poses a significant threat to medical response capacity, mask-wearing will not be re-mandated.

Q. When will the full mask mandate be lifted?

The timing for a full mask mandate lift, including public transportation and infection-vulnerable facilities, has not yet been discussed. Health authorities’ position is that the current COVID-19 infectious disease crisis level, which is ‘severe,’ should first be downgraded to ‘alert’ or ‘caution,’ and that COVID-19, currently a level 2 legal infectious disease, should be downgraded to level 4, similar to influenza.

For this to happen, it is important that the World Health Organization (WHO) first lifts the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), which has been in effect since late January 2020. The WHO’s International Health Regulations Emergency Committee will meet on the 27th. Since the global COVID-19 death toll has not significantly decreased compared to the end of last year, there is a considerable possibility that the PHEIC will be maintained.