"Since Home Quarantine Is Not Required, People Feel Less Pressured" Citizens Welcome the End of Quarantine Measures

Crisis Alert Lowered from Today
End of Over 3 Years of Quarantine Measures
Pregnant Women and Others Express Anxiety over Lifting of Restrictions
Some Confusion in Hospital-Level Medical Institutions

"Your ordered drink is ready!" On the morning of the 1st, the first day of the complete 'endemic' phase (periodic outbreak of infectious diseases) of COVID-19, cafes near Jonggak Station in Seoul were filled with office workers heading to work. The office workers ordered drinks while talking to the person next to them without wearing masks. However, cafe employees were still working while wearing masks. Office worker Yoo (33) said, "Although more people have already stopped wearing masks, from now on, even if you get COVID-19, you don't have to self-isolate at home, so you don't have to worry about what the company thinks." He also said, "I hope that infection control and hygiene management continue to be thorough, just like cafe employees still wearing masks."

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters downgraded the COVID-19 crisis alert level from "Severe" to "Caution" as of the 1st. At a cafe near Jonggak Station in Seoul, employees wearing masks took orders from customers who had removed their masks.
Photo by Gong Byung-sun mydillon@

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters downgraded the COVID-19 crisis alert from 'Severe' to 'Caution' starting that day. This is the first time in 3 years and 4 months since the 'Severe' alert was issued in February 2020, shortly after the first domestic COVID-19 case was reported on January 20, 2020. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters itself was disbanded that day, and its duties were transferred to the Central Accident Response Headquarters under the Ministry of Health and Welfare. With the downgrade of the COVID-19 crisis alert, citizens' return to daily life is almost complete. The 7-day isolation requirement for confirmed cases was lifted, PCR testing after entry was ended, and the indoor mask-wearing mandate was lifted except in hospitals with inpatient rooms?marking the end of the quarantine measures that had been in place for three years.

Citizens had already been feeling the endemic phase. Since March, quarantine measures such as mandatory indoor mask-wearing on public transportation had been gradually lifted. Oh (28, female), an office worker living in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, said, "I stopped wearing a mask to work since early this year," adding, "I thought the COVID-19 situation was already over." Lee (30), living in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, said, "From today, even if I test positive for COVID-19, I have to keep going to work, so it's more burdensome worrying about catching COVID-19, but I'm glad the quarantine measures are ending."

However, some people still expressed anxiety about the lifting of quarantine measures. This is because not only COVID-19 but also other infectious diseases like the common cold can spread. Son (31, female), a pregnant woman, said, "I wear a mask to work because I'm worried that if I catch COVID-19 or the flu, it might negatively affect my baby," adding, "It's still uncomfortable to face people coughing without masks."

Citizens Removing Masks... Medical Community Warns of "Concerns About Confusion"

On the 1st, people wearing masks are entering Korea University Guro Hospital in Guro-gu, Seoul.
Photo by Hwang Seoyul chestnut@

Meanwhile, some confusion occurred at hospital-level medical institutions where mask-wearing and other quarantine measures are still mandatory. Around 8 a.m. that day, a woman in her 30s who came to Seoul Korea University Guro Hospital with her child tried to enter the entrance without wearing a mask but was stopped by staff who told her to "wear a mask." Some people who had already entered the hospital took their masks down to their chins and walked around. Ko (74, female), who was walking around without a mask, said, "I didn't know that masks still had to be worn in hospitals after today," adding, "I thought it would be okay because the hospital lobby is spacious."

Professor Eom Jung-sik, an infectious disease specialist at Gachon Gil Medical Center, said, "I think the government's timing for lifting COVID-19 quarantine measures is appropriate," but added, "The medical community is still not fully prepared for the post-COVID era, so confusion is expected in medical settings."