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Will indoor mask mandate be fully lifted earlier than expected?
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo speaks during a government meeting on the COVID-19 response at the Government Complex in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
By Jun Ji-hye
Authorities are cautiously raising the possibility of fully lifting the mandatory indoor mask-wearing rules earlier than expected, as COVID-19 numbers have continued decreasing in recent weeks.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said on Friday that the daily average number of COVID-19 confirmed cases has decreased for eight consecutive weeks, remaining at about the 10,000 mark. At the same time, the number of critically ill patients has also been consistently reducing.
“Situations related to the COVID-19 pandemic have clearly stabilized,” Han said during a government meeting on the COVID-19 response, held at the Government Complex in Seoul. “If the downward trend continues in and outside of the country, we will be able to begin discussions regarding fully lifting the indoor mask mandate soon, along with downgrading the disease category of the virus.”
In May last year, Korea lifted the outdoor mask mandate in a major step toward supporting a return to normality.
Then on Jan. 30, the government lifted most of the mandatory indoor mask-wearing rules, allowing people to visit most places, including schools, kindergartens and gyms, without masks. Nonetheless, the indoor mask mandate still remains in place at hospitals, pharmacies and on public transportation.
Earlier on, authorities said the full lifting of the indoor mask mandate may be possible 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.
People wearing face masks stroll through COEX in Seoul, Feb. 5. The indoor mask mandate may soon be changed, according to authorities. Yonhap
The possibility of fully lifting the indoor mask mandate earlier than expected comes as the pandemic has been exhibiting a downward trend even after the rules were eased on Jan. 30.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases reported during the second week of February decreased by 15.8 percent to 94,868 from the previous week.
The number of deaths and seriously ill patients also fell by 34.7 percent and 20.7 percent, respectively, during the same period.
Based on the improved figures, the KDCA assessed the degree of risk of the pandemic as “low” for four consecutive weeks.
“We continue to monitor and assess the pandemic-related situation,” KDCA official Lim Sook-young said. “As we are well aware of the inconvenience caused by the indoor mask-wearing mandate, we will continue reviewing the possibility of fully lifting the rules.”
Meanwhile, a recent survey showed that seven in 10 people agreed with the government's Jan. 30 decision to lift most of the indoor mark-wearing rules.
The survey was carried out from Feb. 7 to 10 by a research team led by Prof. Yoo Myung-soon of the Seoul National University Public Health Graduate School.