my timesThe Korea Times
South Korea

Health

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Korea to lift indoor mask mandate Monday

A notice attached at Sinchon Station on Seoul Metro line 2, Sunday, reads that the indoor mask mandate will be lifted inside stations and platforms from Monday, but that subway users will still be required to wear masks on trains. Yonhap66% of people choose to stick with masks despite eased rule: surveyBy Lee Hyo-jin An indoor mask mandate imposed nationwide comes to an end, Monday, with few exemptions such as hospitals and public transit. But it remains to be seen whether Koreans will immediately stop wearing masks, a practice they have gotten used to for the last three years.Following an announcement by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), people are no longer legally obliged to wear a mask indoors beginning at midnight, except at hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies, welfare centers for people with disabilities, and public transportation. The decision to relax the mask-wearing policy was based on four metrics ― the number of new cases, hospitalization, medical capacity, and vaccination rate among the elderly, the KDCA said.People will still be required to wear m

Jan 29, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin
Korea to lift indoor mask mandate Monday
  • Most people masked up on 1st day of lifting of mandate rules

Korea's new COVID-19 cases fall below 20,000 ahead of lifting of indoor mask mandate

This photo taken on Jan. 25 shows a student holding a mask at a school in the southeastern port city of Busan. YonhapKorea's new coronavirus cases fell below 20,000 on Sunday, just a day ahead of the country's planned lifting of a mask mandate for indoor places that has been in place for more than three years.The country reported 18,871 new cases, including 37 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,149,601, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).The daily caseload had been above 30,000 for the second straight day Friday due to increased tests after the Lunar New Year holiday that ended Tuesday, before falling to 23,612 on Saturday.Sunday's daily infections were down by more than 2,000 from a week earlier.Starting Monday, people will be allowed to visit most places, including schools, kindergartens and gyms, without masks, as the government plans to lift the mandate that has been in force since October 2020.Still, the mask mandate will remain in place at hospitals, pharmacies and on public transportation, the KDCA said.In May, Korea lifted the ou

Jan 29, 2023
Korea's new COVID-19 cases fall below 20,000 ahead of lifting of indoor mask mandate

Relaxed mask-wearing rules unlikely to result in uptick in COVID cases: experts

Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) Commissioner Jee Young-mee speaks during a briefing on easing of the indoor mask mandate, held at the agency's headquarters in Osong, North Chungcheong Province, Friday. Yonhap Indoor mask mandate to end from Jan. 30By Lee Hyo-jin An indoor mask mandate, which has been in place for two years and three months in Korea, will end from 12:00 a.m., Jan. 30, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Friday. But the authorities stressed that people will still be required to wear masks at high-risk facilities such as hospitals and on public transport. The announcement, which comes after three years since Korea confirmed its first case of the coronavirus, represents a major milestone in the government's shift in its pandemic response to living with the virus.The health authorities assessed that it is safe to remove the mask mandate considering the recent downward trend in infections and hospitalizations, al

Jan 20, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin
Relaxed mask-wearing rules unlikely to result in uptick in COVID cases: experts

Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 30,000 for 2nd day

A government notice urging customers to wear masks indoors at a shopping mall in Seoul taken Jan. 18. YonhapKorea's new COVID-19 cases stayed below 30,000 for the second straight day Friday as the country prepares to lift the mask mandate for most indoor spaces.The policy will take effect Jan. 30, but it will remain in place at hospitals, pharmacies and public transportation. In May, Korea lifted the outdoor mask mandate in a major step toward regaining normalcy. "Korea has met three out of the four criteria (in order to lift the indoor mask mandate). We believe that external risk factors are at a manageable level," Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said at a meeting earlier in the day on COVID-19.The latest move came amid a downward trend in new infections, a drop in critically ill cases and deaths, and strong medical response capabilities, three key criteria in lifting the indoor mask mandate, Korea's last remaining pandemic restriction.The government earlier said it could scrap the indoor mask mandate in phases if at least two of four criteria are met. The fourth criterion is a high vac

Jan 20, 2023
Korea's new COVID-19 cases below 30,000 for 2nd day

Korea to lift mask mandate for most indoor spaces Jan. 30

A man walks past a sign asking visitors to wear masks at an indoor shopping mall in Seoul on Jan. 18. Yonhap Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Friday that South Korea plans to lift the mask mandate for most indoor spaces from Jan. 30, dropping its last remaining pandemic restriction as the daily caseload continues to decline. The policy will, however, remain in place at hospitals, pharmacies and public transportation.The government said earlier it could scrap the indoor mask mandate in phases if at least two of four criteria are met. Those criteria are a downward trend in new infections, a drop in critically ill cases and deaths, strong medical response capabilities and a high vaccination rate among high-risk groups."The government will discuss and confirm the plan to ease the indoor mask mandate starting Jan. 30, with the exception of some facilities," Han said during the government virus response meeting.He explained three of the four criteria, excluding high vacci

Jan 20, 2023
Korea to lift mask mandate for most indoor spaces Jan. 30

Korea's new COVID-19 cases down to lowest Thursday tally in 13 weeks

A government notice to wear masks indoors is shown inside a shopping mall in Seoul, Jan. 18. YonhapKorea's new COVID-19 cases fell to the lowest Thursday tally in 13 weeks, in a sign that the country is past the peak of the latest winter COVID-19 wave. The country reported 29,816 new COVID-19 infections, including 63 from overseas, bringing the total to 29,927,958, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Among the imported cases, 36 cases, or 57.1 percent, were from China.Thursday's tally is down by nearly 14,000 from the previous week and almost half the daily caseload reported two weeks ago, KDCA data showed. It is also the lowest Thursday tally since Oct. 20, when the country reported 25,375 cases. Korea added 47 COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 33,104.The number of critically ill patients stood at 465, down by 25 from the previous day.Health authorities are scheduled to decide when and to what extent the indoor mask mandate will be adjusted Friday, just before the Lunar New Year holiday.The government said earlier it could scrap the mask mandate in

Jan 19, 2023
Korea's new COVID-19 cases down to lowest Thursday tally in 13 weeks

Indoor mask mandate likely to be dropped from Jan. 30

People are seen wearing face masks at a bookstore in Seoul, Monday. The government this Friday will announce detailed measures on the lifting of the indoor mask mandate. YonhapGov't to announce Friday when mask requirement will be liftedBy Lee Hyo-jin The indoor mask mandate, which has been in place for over two years in Korea, is highly likely to be removed at the end of January, after the Lunar New Year holidays which run from Jan. 21 to 24. The Ministry of Health and Welfare will announce detailed measures Friday on when and how the mask rule will be phased out. In the first stage of the phase-out, which is likely to begin from Jan. 30, mask-wearing in public places will no longer be mandatory, but rather, just a recommendation ― except for high-risk facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes and public transport.Such plans were discussed during an advisory panel meeting on the government's COVID-19 response measures held Tuesday afternoon. During the meeting, medical experts overall agreed that it is time for Korea to remove the mask mandate as the country seems to have passed t

Jan 18, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin
Indoor mask mandate likely to be dropped from Jan. 30

Korea to determine when to lift indoor mask mandate this week

A sign posted at a shopping mall in Seoul asks all visitors to wear protective masks in this Dec. 22, 2022 file photo. YonhapThe government will decide when to lift the indoor mask mandate this week, as the country is past the peak of the latest winter COVID-19 wave, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min said Wednesday. "With this winter's COVID-19 wave past its peak, the overall virus situation is stabilizing," Lee said during a government virus response meeting. Taking the virus situation and other external factors into account, the government will determine when and to what extent the indoor mask mandate would be adjusted during the next virus response meeting scheduled for Friday, the minister noted. Lee said the average daily new virus tally reached 42,938 last week, continuing the downward trend for the third consecutive week. The daily number of seriously ill patients reached 439 on average last week, the lowest point in five weeks.Interior Minister Lee Sang-min speaks during a government COVID-19 response meeting in Seoul, Jan. 18. YonhapThe minister expressed concerns that the viru

Jan 18, 2023
Korea to determine when to lift indoor mask mandate this week

Gov't urged to bring in foreign caregivers to tackle shortage of workers

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Hyo-jin The government is being urged by operators of nursing facilities to ease visa rules and attract more foreign nationals to work as caregivers here as the country grapples with an increasing shortage of paid caretakers amid a rapidly aging population.Caregivers are hired to assist the elderly and sick people either in their homes or at nursing facilities. Their responsibilities range from helping them dress, eat, wash and change their diapers.As the physically and emotionally challenging job is being shunned by young Koreans, the country is already largely dependent on foreign workers, with ethnic Koreans of Chinese nationality (called Joseon-jok in Korean) currently accounting for one-third of the caregivers at nursing homes.Operators of nursing hospitals believe that the government should open the door to foreign workers from Southeast Asian countries for instance to address the labor shortage which often leads to increased costs of care. “It has long become impossible for nursing homes to secure enough caregivers by relying solely on Korean nation

Jan 16, 2023By Lee Hyo-jin
Gov't urged to bring in foreign caregivers to tackle shortage of workers

Korea's COVID-19 cases fall to lowest Sunday tally in nearly 3 months

People visit a coronavirus testing center near Seoul Station, Jan. 12. YonhapKorea's new COVID-19 cases dipped to the lowest Sunday tally in almost three months, as the government has stepped up efforts to contain the inflow from China.A total of 32,570 additional coronavirus infections, including 104 cases from overseas, have been confirmed nationwide, bringing the total caseload to 29,806,891, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).The tally marked the lowest for any Sunday since Oct. 30, when the country reported 34,491 new cases. It is down by around 14,000 cases from a week ago. The country added 37 COVID-19 deaths, bringing the death toll to 32,949. The number of critically ill patients came to 499, down from 505 the previous day, the KDCA said.The Korean government has ramped up monitoring for overseas visitors amid the rOf the 104 new cases of overseas infections reported Saturday, 64 were from China, the public health agency said.Earlier this month, Seoul rolled out a policy requiring travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macao to produce negative

Jan 15, 2023
Korea's COVID-19 cases fall to lowest Sunday tally in nearly 3 months
previous page
8485868788
next page

Most Read in South Korea