Masks are removed at schools, daycare centers, senior citizen centers, and large marts.
Quarantine authorities strongly recommend wearing it in the ‘3rd mill’ space… Concerns about some confusion in the early stages of implementation
From the 30th, it is no longer necessary to wear a mask indoors, except for some facilities such as public transportation and hospitals.
According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters on the 29th, the government-level mandatory mask-wearing measure introduced in October 2020 as a quarantine measure against Corona 19 will be converted to a ‘recommendation’ from the 30th, after 27 months.
Wearing a mask is voluntary, not mandatory, at schools, kindergartens, daycare centers, senior citizen centers, gyms, and swimming pools.
The corona 19 winter resurgence has passed its peak and has entered a declining trend, and the occurrence of severe illness and deaths has also stabilized, turning mask wearing into the realm of personal choice rather than ‘regulation’.
However, the obligation to wear indoor masks is maintained at medical institutions, pharmacies, facilities vulnerable to infection, and public transportation.
While the obligation to wear masks indoors and outdoors has been lifted in principle, some confusion is inevitable as the obligation remains only in some places.
According to the new ‘mask wearing prevention guidelines’ of the quarantine authorities, you do not need to wear a mask at large marts, department stores, shopping malls, etc., but you must wear a mask at pharmacies in large marts.
On the other hand, hospitals and facilities vulnerable to infection are, in principle, spaces where masks must be worn, and masks must also be worn in gyms and locker rooms within the institution.
However, if you are in a private room in a hospital room or in a private space in an resident-type infection-vulnerable facility, you can take off your mask as you are exempt from the fine.
There is no obligation to wear a mask at kindergartens, schools, or academies, but you must wear a mask in a school vehicle that is equivalent to public transportation.
In addition, it is necessary to check as the facilities subject to fines for not wearing indoor masks can be added by local government, so facilities that require wearing indoor masks may differ from region to region.
In order to prevent confusion, the quarantine authorities have posted mask-wearing quarantine guidelines at facilities that are obligatory to wear masks, informing them that they are ‘mandatory facilities to wear’.
In addition, even in spaces where the obligation to wear masks indoors has been lifted, ▲ if you have symptoms of COVID-19 or are in contact with someone with suspected symptoms ▲ if you are in a high-risk group or if you are in contact with a high-risk group ▲ if you have been in contact with a confirmed person in the past 2 weeks ▲ If you are in a 3D (close, dense, closed) indoor environment where ventilation is difficult ▲ Wearing a mask is ‘strongly recommended’ when there are many acts of generating droplets such as shouting, chorus, and conversation in a crowded situation.
However, there is also a view that there will not be any major changes right away, as was the case when the mandatory outdoor mask wearing was lifted last year, with responses saying they would not take off their masks higher than responses saying they would take them off in several surveys.
The disappearance of the obligation to wear masks indoors is the first time in 27 months since the introduction of mandatory masks at the government level in October 2020.
If you include the period when people wore masks on their own after the outbreak of Corona 19 in Korea, it is close to 3 years.
Following the lifting of social distancing measures in April of last year and the lifting of the obligation to wear outdoor masks in May of the same year, most of the obligations to wear masks indoors also disappeared, bringing us one step closer to “recovery of daily life.”
Now, except for some remaining indoor mask wearing obligations such as public transportation, ‘7-day quarantine for confirmed cases’ remains the only corona 19 quarantine measure.
The government plans to review the adjustment of quarantine obligations at the time when the World Health Organization (WHO) lifts the COVID-19 public health emergency and the domestic crisis level is adjusted.
/yunhap news
