Korea to begin what may be last 2 weeks of distancing measures

Social Affairs

Published: 03 Apr. 2022, 18:18 Updated: 07 Apr. 2022, 18:50

Korea to begin what may be last 2 weeks of distancing measures

Crowds walk under cherry blossom trees in full bloom at Gyeonghwa Station Park in Jinhae, South Gyeongsang, on Sunday, even though the annual cherry blossom festival was canceled again this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Local authorities did not block visitors from coming to the park this year. [YONHAP]

Korea hinted at scrapping almost all of its Covid-19 measures, excluding indoor mask mandates, on the condition that the medical system is stably managed over the next two weeks.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters on Friday decided to further loosen the curfew on restaurants, cafes and other businesses from 11 p.m. to midnight, and allow private gatherings of up to 10 people, from the previous eight. The cap on large events will remain at 299 people.

The relaxed measures will be applied for the next two weeks from Monday through April 17.

The decision comes as the country’s Omicron wave is believed to have peaked and started to decline, further influenced by the public's high expectations for a relaxation of social distancing, the government explained.

The latest adjustment is expected to be Korea’s last round of distancing rules before lifting all public health measures — except for indoor mask-wearing — later in the month. Social distancing rules have been in place in Korea since May 2020.

“Eventually, all virus regulations, including those put on business hours, private gatherings and large-scale events, will be lifted except for wearing masks indoors, and proceed to a system close to normal life,” Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said Friday.

“Mask-wearing is the easiest line of defense to practice and is very efficient in terms of cost effectiveness,” Son Young-rae, senior epidemiological strategist at the Central Disaster Management Headquarters, said. "We plan to keep the mask-wearing mandate until the end [of the pandemic] and review [lifting it] afterwards."

The outdoor mask mandate almost came to an end in November last year as part of what the government called its gradual return to normalcy, but the plan was called off due to a surge of Covid-19 cases. Masks are allowed to be taken off outside as long as people maintain a distance of 2 meters (6.6 feet) from each other.

Regarding a complete overhaul of the distancing measures, authorities stressed the condition that “the pandemic indicators decrease to a stable level over the next two weeks” — referring to the daily caseload, severely ill patients and the death toll — with the latest relaxing of distancing rules.

Though Korea’s daily Covid-19 infections are slowly falling, the number of critical cases and fatalities remain alarming.

The country on Sunday reported 234,301 more Covid-19 cases, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), staying below 300,000 for three straight days.

Over 1,000 hospitalized Covid-19 patients were recorded to be in severe condition, totaling 1,128 as of Saturday midnight. There were 306 more deaths from the coronavirus.

Amid ongoing discussions over a total scrapping of distancing rules, health authorities are considering lowering the infectious disease level of Covid-19, which is currently classified as a Class 1 disease, the highest and most dangerous level, to Class 2, alongside tuberculosis, chickenpox and measles. All treatment expenses for Class 1 infectious diseases, and only some in Class 2, are covered by the government.

In addition, the government decided to stop rapid antigen testing at Covid-19 screening centers at public health centers and gu (district) offices nationwide from April 11.

Patients will be told to go to designated respiratory clinics in their neighborhood if they wish to receive a rapid antigen test.

The government decided to switch to a private testing system in consideration of the expansion of the number of local hospitals and clinics treating Covid-19 patients, along with the downtrend of new infections. Since March 30, Covid-19 patients have been able to receive face-to-face treatment at nearby local hospitals, like flu patients. From Monday, smaller local clinics will also be able to give face-to-face treatment to Covid-19 patients.

The Wall Street Journal reported on March 30 that Korea “could be the first country to transition into an endemic stage of Covid-19” given the country has "one of the highest vaccination rates among adults, high trust in the public health system and the right tools to emerge from the pandemic."

Citing the media report, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said, "Once the majority of Covid-19 patients are able to get treated at local clinics and hospitals without any struggles, we look forward to Korea becoming the first country in the world to declare an endemic."

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]