Eating in cinemas, planes and public transport allowed starting today

A notice at a movie theater in Seoul reads that eating snacks will be allowed from Monday. Yonhap

COVID-19 downgraded to Level 2 infectious disease

By Lee Hyo-jin

Starting Monday, eating snacks in cinemas, sports venues, planes, long-distance buses and interregional trains will be allowed, as the government has further eased antivirus regulations amid the phased transition to post-Omicron daily life.

In addition to their decision to remove social distancing measures on business operating hours and private gatherings from April 15, the health authorities have announced they are easing additional COVID-19 measures, except for the mask wearing requirement.

Moviegoers and spectators at sport events will now be able to enjoy snacks, while department stores and supermarkets will be able to offer food samples to customers ― which has been prohibited since last July.

Workers at a large supermarket in Seoul prepare to offer free coffee samples to customers, Sunday. Beginning Monday, department stores and supermarkets will be able to offer food and beverage samples, a practice that has been prohibited since last July. Yonhap

In addition, face-to-face visits to nursing homes will be temporarily allowed from April 30 through May 22. Until now, only contactless visits through transparent barriers were permitted to prevent COVID-19 infections from spreading among vulnerable elderly patients living in the facilities.

The health ministry noted that in-person visits will be allowed in a limited fashion for visitors who have been administered with a booster shot and elderly residents at nursing homes who have received a second booster, or those who have recently recovered from the coronavirus.

Moreover, the government has decided to downgrade the infectious disease status of COVID-19 to Level 2, after the virus was categorized as Level 1, the highest level in its four-tier system, for more than two years.

This decision comes as the authorities aim to normalize the medical system, under which COVID-19 would be treated more like an endemic disease.

Since the first case of the virus was reported in the country in January 2020, the coronavirus has been classified as a Level 1 infectious disease, requiring virus carriers to be isolated in a designated environment, and active cases of the disease to be immediately reported to the public health authorities.

Under the current laws, those infected with diseases of Level 2 or higher are not subject to mandatory self-isolation, and active cases must be reported only within 24 hours of detection, while the costs of treatment are not covered by national health insurance.

However, the health authorities have decided to maintain the current testing and treatment scheme for COVID-19 until May 23, in order to minimize confusion in the medical system.

The government has been easing COVID-19 measures amid a gradual decline in the number of daily new infections.

The country reported 64,725 new infections for Saturday, staying below 100,000 for four consecutive days, raising the aggregate total number of cases in Korea to 16,895,194. The number of patients in critical condition stood at 726, down from 738 the previous day, with 109 new COVID-19-related deaths.

'Too early to lift mask requirement'

Face masks are displayed at a store in Seoul, April 20. Yonhap

While many COVID-19 restrictions have now been removed, it is not yet clear when residents will be able to transition to mask-free life, amid the different approaches in the outgoing and incoming administrations towards the mask-wearing requirement.

Announcing the lifting of the social distancing measures on April 15, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said it would decide on whether to lift the mask requirement for outdoors depending on the situation in the next couple of weeks.

The health authorities later said it would make the decision in early May, but the transition committee of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has expressed concerns about lifting the antivirus measures all at once, in particular the mask requirement.

Wearing a mask is "a basic rule and the last line of defense in the prevention and management of infectious diseases," said committee Chairman Ahn Cheol-soo.

"Medical experts are warning of a new wave this fall. And with risks over the emergence of new variants still remaining, it may be difficult to fully eradicate the pandemic," said Shin Yong-hyun, a spokesperson of the transition team, calling on the government for prudence over removing the mask requirement.

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