On first mask-free day, some feel uncomfortable with no masks

Students at Chonnam National University in Gwangju chat on Monday, the first day when the first relaxation of mask wearing regulations came into effect as the national daily COVID-19 infection case number continue to gradually decline. Yonhap

By Ko Dong-hwan

• Published May 2, 2022 4:57 PM KST
• Updated May 3, 2022 8:37 AM KST

Daily COVID-19 infection cases drop to 20,084, lowest in nearly 3 months

By Ko Dong-hwan

Monday marked the first day when the lifting of the outdoor mask mandate came into effect, 566 days since the nation introduced it in October 2020. Despite the relaxed rules, people seen in crowded city streets on Monday morning included both masked and unmasked members of the public.

There were those with their mask in-hand while walking who only put it on when boarding public transport, so as to abide by the national quarantine regulations that still requires masks to be worn in enclosed or indoors spaces.

It may be that news of the mandate's lift on Monday hasn't reached all, as some wearing masks may still think the measure is in place. Or it may be that the eased quarantine regulation simply needs more time for more members of the public to put themselves at ease and expose their faces more comfortably.

“I feel weird that I don't have to wear it anymore,” one of the passers-by wearing her mask in Seoul told The Korea Times, asking not to be named. “I think I've become accustomed to wearing it so I was reluctant to go outside without it this morning. I want to take time and see how others are doing before I decide to go mask-free.”

One 39 year old man not wearing a mask, on the other hand, seemed vibrant. “I have been looking forward to this day,” he said on his way to work in Seoul's Jung District. “I see that many people are still wearing them, but I guess they will eventually take them off. I hope I also don't need to wear it inside my office soon.”

The outdoor mask mandate lift came as Monday saw 20,084 new COVID-19 infection cases from the previous day, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The figure is the lowest in nearly three months and also hit the lowest mark along the downward trend, which has been continuing throughout the past weeks. Monday's tally is a marked drop from the previous day's 37,771. It is the first time since early February that the daily count came down to the 20,000s.

The KDCA scrapped the mandate for outside spaces except for at large gatherings of 50 or more people. Those with possible symptoms of COVID-19 like fever, cough and sore throat, as well as old age, low immunity, chronic respiratory problems, and those who haven't vaccinated are still required to wear masks outside.

Mask wearing is also still recommended when it is difficult for people to keep one meter distance from each other at gatherings and in circumstances where lots of droplets of saliva could be expelled, such as shouting and singing.

The country eased most of the strict social distancing restrictions in mid-April, including private gathering limits and business hour curfews.

Officials from the Korean Medical Association (KMA) said Monday that despite the country's major step toward normalcy with the eased quarantine measure, keeping a physical distance from each other even at outside and wearing a mask for those with high-risks of COVID-19 are still advised.

“Just because they no longer have to wear masks outside, doesn't mean they can let their guard down against COVID-19 from now on,” one of the KMA officials said.

Some were still confused as to the exact definitions of “outdoor spaces” and “indoor spaces,” as there were public areas many deemed didn't clearly fall under either of them, like open-air metro platforms. According to a theoretical explanation by experts, it can be defined as an outside space if spaces with four sides had at least two sides open, enabling natural ventilation.

Not having to wear masks at indoor spaces won't be an option for a while, according to an official from the KDCA's social strategic division. “It will be much longer until we can deem COVID-19 as an endemic disease,” he said. To fall under that classification, the disease's ongoing contagious threats on a global scale would have to be stabilized more than at present, especially in China, according to the official.

For the KDCA official, the more complete picture of the country becoming safe from COVID-19 would require a much lower number of critically ill patients. The KDCA said Monday the country added 83 COVID-19 deaths from Sunday, bringing the total to 22,958. The number of critically ill patients came to 461, down 32 from the previous day's 493.