Change in Administrative Order for Mandatory Mask Wearing
Excluding Residential Facilities, Medical Institutions, Pharmacies, and Public Transportation
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Busan City announced that starting January 30, it will change the administrative order mandating mask-wearing and shift indoor mask-wearing from ‘mandatory’ to ‘recommended.’
This follows the revision of the mask-wearing quarantine guidelines by the Central Disease Control Headquarters, implementing the ‘Step 1 adjustment of indoor mask-wearing mandate.’
On January 20, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters discussed the ‘Review of indoor mask-wearing mandate adjustment and future plans,’ and through this, prepared the ‘Step 1 adjustment of indoor mask-wearing mandate’ plan, announcing nationwide implementation from January 30.
Accordingly, the indoor mask-wearing ‘mandatory’ rule applied in Busan City will be changed to ‘recommended’ starting January 30. However, some facilities are excluded from the Step 1 mandate adjustment and will maintain the indoor mask-wearing ‘mandatory’ rule.
Facilities where indoor mask-wearing remains mandatory include ▲residential facilities among infection-vulnerable facilities ▲medical institutions and pharmacies ▲indoor public transportation.
▲Residential facilities among infection-vulnerable facilities include nursing hospitals, long-term care institutions, mental health promotion facilities, and welfare facilities for the disabled.
▲Public transportation includes route buses, railways, urban railways, passenger ships, ferries, charter buses, special passenger vehicles, taxis, and airplanes.
The city strongly recommends mask-wearing in cases of ▲suspected COVID-19 symptoms or contact with someone showing such symptoms ▲being in a high-risk group or contact with high-risk individuals ▲recent contact with confirmed COVID-19 cases (mask-wearing recommended for two weeks from the date of contact) ▲being in a 3-mil (closed, crowded, close-contact) environment with poor ventilation ▲situations with many people densely gathered involving droplet-generating activities such as shouting, singing, or conversation.
Also, as the indoor mask-wearing ‘mandatory’ rule is adjusted to ‘recommended,’ there may be an increase in the scale of confirmed cases, and since immunity among high-risk groups is still insufficient, the city actively recommends habitual mask-wearing and additional COVID-19 bivalent vaccine booster shots.
Lee Sora, Director of the City’s Citizen Health Bureau, said, “We thank all Busan citizens who have participated in mask-wearing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.” She emphasized, “Even though the indoor mask-wearing ‘mandatory’ rule is adjusted to ‘recommended,’ the necessity of wearing masks does not disappear. We ask for continued participation in personal quarantine practices such as mask-wearing, hand washing, and regular ventilation, which are the most important measures to prevent COVID-19 spread and reduce the burden on the healthcare system.”
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