Gov't requires vaccine pass for large discount chains, department stores

Social distancing signs on precautions against the coronavirus are displayed in Seoul, Dec. 29. AP-Yonhap

The government will extend toughened social distancing rules for two more weeks through mid-January, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday, amid efforts to bring down the number of serious coronavirus cases and contain the Omicron variant.

"It is too early to think that we have overcome the crisis," Kim said during a COVID-19 response meeting in Seoul. "We still have a lot of critically ill virus patients and deaths."

The government has been enforcing stricter social distancing rules since Dec. 18 following a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Currently, private gatherings are capped at four people nationwide, while 9 or 10 p.m. curfews are imposed on multiuse facilities' business hours.

The restrictions were originally supposed to end Sunday, but with the latest decision, they will be enforced through Jan. 16.

In addition to existing curbs, the authorities decided to tighten distancing measures for large discount chains and department stores by making it mandatory for visitors to show a proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test result.

After imposing the tightened virus curbs and encouraging booster shots, Kim said the country's virus situation is improving with the daily number of new cases showing a downward trend.

Health authorities on Friday reported 4,875 new cases, sharply down from the Dec. 15 peak of 7,850 cases.

However, Kim warned against complacency as the daily figures of serious COVID-19 cases and deaths are still over 1,000 and 100, respectively, despite the increased inoculation rate among senior citizens.

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He added that the government still has to work hard to secure more hospital beds and to have a medical system that can handle 10,000 patients a day, while needing to be fully prepared before the highly transmissible omicron variant spreads quickly across the nation.

As of Friday, the country confirmed a total of 894 Omicron variant cases, up 269 from the previous day.

"If the virus situation gets stabilized after we show our civic consciousness a little more for two weeks, the government will actively consider relaxing virus curbs," Kim said. "For the next year, we expect the fight against the omicron variant to determine the success of our disease control efforts."

The toughened rules brought a setback to the government's "Living with COVID-19" scheme that targets people's gradual return to normal life, and caused a strong backlash from small merchants and self-employed people.

To ease their suffering, Kim said the government decided to provide COVID-19 damage compensation for the first quarter in advance. Some 550,000 self-employed people will receive 5 million won ($4,200) each first, with the actual calculations of their financial damage and related compensation to be conducted later.

Regarding the government's COVID-19 vaccine pass system for youths, Kim said it will be adopted in March with a one-month grace period. (Yonhap)

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