WHO concludes today whether to lift state of emergency
As the government announced, from 0:00 on the 30th, the obligation to wear a mask has disappeared in most indoor facilities across the country, except for some medical facilities and public transportation. It has been about 2 years and 3 months since the guidelines for wearing masks were introduced in October 2020 to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) in Korea.
Many welcome it in that it has restored daily life before the pandemic, but confusion was also detected in some sites such as schools.
From this day, the obligation to wear a mask has been changed to ‘recommendation’ at various indoor facilities such as shopping malls, restaurants, cafes, bus terminals, and subway stations. Major conglomerates, such as Samsung Electronics, also delivered internal guidelines, including whether or not to wear masks during meetings.
The mandatory wearing guidelines were maintained in facilities vulnerable to infection, such as inside buses, hospitals, and nursing homes. However, in the case of patients admitted to a multi-bed room in a nursing home, quarantine is applied flexibly, such as taking off a mask when there are no medical staff or visitors.
Despite the lifting of the mandatory wearing guidelines, it seems that some people will continue to wear masks. Large entrance exam academies decided to stick to wearing masks out of concern about the spread of Corona 19. The Seoul Metropolitan Government has decided to maintain the wearing of masks when staff face to face with civil petitioners.
The remaining quarantine measures, such as 7-day quarantine for confirmed cases, depend on the decision of the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO will decide on the 30th (local time) whether to lift the Corona 19 Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). When the WHO lifts the state of emergency, Korean health authorities are also expected to ease additional quarantine measures.
Companies “Wear a mask in the meeting room-commuter bus line”… Some Schools “Keep Wearing”
Unequipped by most major universities
Hagwon goes “I won’t take off the mask”
Bank “Wear a mask for tellers”
Marts are also recommended to wear store staff
“They say you can take off your mask at work. I feel relieved, but there are around 20,000 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) every day, and I am worried about group infections.”
Mr. Jeong (30), who works for a large company, said on the 29th, “I was instructed to take off the mask when in private at the company and wear it during meetings.” While the obligation to wear indoor masks has been lifted from 0:00 on the 30th, companies, schools, and local governments are preparing and implementing their own guidelines. In offices, even if you take off your mask, there are not a few places where you are still asked to wear it when dealing with customers or meeting.
● Information on “Keep wearing a mask” in some schools
On the 29th, the day before the lifting of the mandatory wearing of indoor masks, a notice is installed in front of the ticket gate at the Cultural Complex Station in Gwangju. From the 30th, wearing a mask is changed to ‘recommendation’ in the subway waiting room or platform, but it is still ‘obligatory’ to wear while boarding the train. Gwangju = Reporter Park Young-cheol skyblue@donga.comAccording to the government’s guidelines for wearing masks indoors, which have been applied since the 30th, daycare centers, kindergartens, and elementary, middle and high schools are not subject to mandatory wearing of indoor masks in principle. However, it was found that some schools set up their own policies to maintain wearing them and notified parents. The Ministry of Education has also left the detailed policy to the discretion of the school principal. Jinyoung Go, principal of Baejae High School in Seoul, which will hold a face-to-face graduation ceremony in the auditorium on the 9th of next month, said, “We will guide students to wear masks throughout the graduation ceremony.”
There is an atmosphere that even the academies will not take off their masks. Large academies, Jongno Academy and Megastudy, decided to maintain the guidelines for wearing masks for students. A director who runs a math academy in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province said, “After conducting a survey through social network services (SNS), both children and parents preferred wearing masks, so we decided to maintain the policy of wearing masks indoors.”
On the other hand, most major universities have lifted the mandatory wearing of masks indoors. Yonsei University lifted the obligation to wear a mask in the library, and Chung-Ang University also announced that it would not sanction students who take off their masks in classrooms and libraries. Local governments are also setting up and guiding their own standards for wearing masks. The Seoul Metropolitan Government has prepared a guideline recommending the wearing of masks in places where many people gather, such as conference rooms and elevators, and for public officials dealing with civil complaints.
● Corporate “use it in a common space”
Samsung Electronics lifted the obligation to wear masks in individual seats, but announced a policy to maintain mandatory wearing in conference rooms and commuter buses. In the cafeteria, seating was removed by one space, but the barrier between seats was maintained.
In the case of Hyundai Motor Company, SK, and LG, they decided to leave the wearing of indoor masks to their own discretion, except for some spaces such as commuter buses. However, an LG official said, “It is still compulsory to wear a mask in the case of customer-facing workers.”
The bank, which has normalized store business hours from 9 am to 4 pm from this day, is asking window employees to wear masks. A bank official said, “Due to government policy, we cannot force people to wear masks, but we encourage counter staff to wear them voluntarily.”
Marts are also guiding store employees to wear masks. E-Mart decided to strongly recommend wearing masks to store workers and salespersons who face customers. Homeplus also decided to keep wearing masks at its stores and distribution centers for the time being.
The self-employed expressed their expectations and concerns at the same time. Lee Ji-hoon (40), who runs a meat restaurant in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, said, “I received a lot of protests when I was informed that he should always wear a mask unless he is eating, but now there is nothing to be stressed about. The number of guests will also increase,” he welcomed. On the other hand, Mr. Yoon (63), who runs a Korean restaurant in Jung-gu, Seoul, said, “Employees will continue to wear masks and will recommend customers to wear masks outside of mealtimes as much as possible.”
Reporter Lee Ji-woon easy@donga.com
Reporter Sa Ji-won 4g1@donga.com
Reporter Cheong-ah Lee clearlee@donga.com
Reporter Shin Dong-jin shine@donga.com
Reporter Hong Seok-ho will@donga.com
Reporter Lee Seung-woo suwoong2@donga.com
