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| Commuters wearing masks wait for buses at a stop in Seoul, Wednesday. The mask mandate on public transportation will be lifted starting Monday, according to the government. |
By Jun Ji-hye
The government has decided to lift the mask mandate on public transportation, including buses, subways and airplanes, starting Monday as the COVID-19 situation continues to stabilize, health authorities said Wednesday.
The mask mandate was enforced in Korea starting in October 2020 when the pandemic raged.
During a government meeting on COVID-19 responses, Vice Interior Minister Han Chang-seob said the decision was made in consideration of the COVID-19 infection numbers, which have continued decreasing even after the government lifted most of the mandatory indoor mask-wearing rules on Jan. 30.
"The daily average number of virus cases has decreased by 38 percent even after mask-wearing requirements were adjusted on Jan. 30, while the number of new seriously ill patients has fallen by 55 percent," Han said. "Plus, mutant virus variants have not been discovered in recent weeks. The virus situation has been in a stable condition."
Han, however, added that the government still "actively recommends" people who use public transportation during rush hour as well as those who are in high-risk groups or have symptoms associated with COVID-19 to continue to wear masks on public transportation.
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| Vice Interior Minister Han Chang-seob speaks during a government meeting on COVID-19 responses at the Government Complex in Sejong, Wednesday. Yonhap |
In May last year, the government lifted the outdoor mask mandate in a major step toward a return to pre-COVID normality.
Then on Jan. 30, most of the mandatory indoor mask-wearing rules were lifted. But the mandate has still remained in place at hospitals, pharmacies, other vulnerable facilities such as geriatric hospitals and public transportation.
Authorities said an increasing number of countries have already ended the mask mandate on public transportation ― Germany on Feb. 2 and Spain on Feb. 8. In Singapore, all of the mask-wearing rules were lifted on Feb. 13.
Authorities also cited a recent survey showing that a number of people were still willing to wear masks even after most of the rules were lifted.
In the survey conducted by Hankook Research from Feb. 10 to Feb. 13, 75 percent of the respondents said they will continue to wear masks regardless of changes in government policies.
In addition to public transportation, the mask mandate will also end at pharmacies in open public spaces, such as big supermarkets or train stations, according to the authorities.
Government sources noted that remaining mask-wearing rules at places such as hospitals are likely to be lifted after May when the World Health Organization (WHO) plans to discuss whether to end, what it calls, a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) regarding the coronavirus.
The government plans to announce its roadmap for lifting remaining COVID-19 restrictions, including the seven-day isolation mandate for virus patients, by the end of this month.
The vice interior minister stressed that protecting high-risk groups, especially those in their 60s or older, will be the key to the complete return to normality.
"The government will increase the rates of booster injections and prescriptions of oral COVID-19 medicines for high-risk groups in a bid to prepare for the return to normality without a hitch," Han said.
Meanwhile, the government will gradually resume the operation of international passenger ferries between Korea and China, also starting next Monday, amid improved virus situations in both countries.
Since the operation of passenger ships was suspended in January 2020 due to the pandemic, only cargo services have been available between the two nations.
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