Mask Mandate Remains Only for Medical Institutions and Infection-Vulnerable Facilities
"Mask Recommended When Using Public Transport During Peak Hours"
Starting from the 20th, the indoor mask-wearing mandate on public transportation such as buses and subways will be lifted. Additionally, the mask-wearing requirement will be lifted for open-type pharmacies inside large facilities like marts and stations. The places where mask-wearing will still be mandatory are medical institutions and facilities vulnerable to infections, effectively ending uniform quarantine measures for the general public. The lifting of the mask mandate on public transportation comes about three years after the outbreak of COVID-19 and approximately two years and five months after the government made mask-wearing mandatory.
Most students at Gwangjang Elementary School in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, are wearing masks while attending school on January 30, when indoor mask-wearing was changed from a legal obligation to a recommendation. Photo by Huh Younghan younghan@
Han Chang-seop, the 2nd Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) and Acting Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, announced at the CDSCH meeting on the 15th, "The quarantine situation is judged to be stable."
Accordingly, mask-wearing on public transportation and inside open-type pharmacies in large facilities will be relaxed to a recommendation. However, regular pharmacies will maintain the mask-wearing mandate considering the possibility of use by symptomatic individuals and high-risk groups.
The government mandated mask-wearing on October 13, 2020, and after a one-month grace period, began imposing fines for non-compliance starting November 13.
However, as discussions on returning to normal life intensified early last year, the government lifted social distancing measures on April 18 and removed the outdoor mask mandate in early May. Following this, from May 2, the outdoor mask mandate was lifted except for some cases such as sports events, and from September 26, all remaining outdoor mask-wearing requirements were fully lifted. Subsequently, on January 30 of this year, the indoor mask mandate was lifted.
Meanwhile, the average daily number of COVID-19 cases last week was 10,058, a 7.4% increase compared to the previous week. This marks a shift to an upward trend after 11 weeks (since the third week of December last year). However, confirmed cases among the high-risk group aged 60 and over have decreased for 11 consecutive weeks, and deaths have decreased for 5 consecutive weeks.
Notably, since the adjustment of the indoor mask mandate on January 30, the average daily confirmed cases have decreased by 38%, new severe cases have decreased by 55%, and no new variants have emerged.
The government is lifting the mask mandate on public transportation but urges continued vigilance against COVID-19. Deputy Head Han stated, "We strongly recommend mask-wearing for public transportation users during crowded hours, high-risk groups, and symptomatic individuals."
In addition, the government will sequentially resume passenger transportation on the Korea-China international passenger ferry, which was suspended in January 2020, starting from the 20th.
Deputy Minister Han said, "To achieve a full return to normal life, protecting high-risk groups such as those aged 60 and over is essential. The government will continue additional vaccinations and prescriptions of therapeutics for high-risk groups to minimize the severity and fatality rates of COVID-19 and will prepare the 'COVID-19 Normal Life Recovery Roadmap' without delay."
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