“Experts believe it is possible to relax the mask-wearing regulation outside, where the risk of transmission is lower than indoors.”
Photo: IANS
The outdoor mask mandate is expected to be lifted by the South Korean government next week, according to officials here.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum is scheduled to announce the decision during a Covid-19 reaction meeting on Friday, as the country continues to notice a lower trend in Covid-19 cases.
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“Even after all limitations on private meetings and business hours have been restored,” a government official stated, “the downward trend in Covid-19 instances persists, while critical and fatality rates have remained unchanged.”
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“Experts believe it is possible to relax the mask-wearing regulation outside, where the risk of transmission is lower than indoors.”
President-elect Yoon Suk-transition yeol’s team chief, Ahn Cheol-soo, said earlier this week that the next government will decide whether to repeal the outdoor mask mandate in late May.
Ahn’s remark has been seen as a request to the present government to keep the mask mandate in place until late next month, but health officials have apparently decided that, given the recent virus trend, there is no reason to keep the mandate in place.
As the pandemic reached a more controllable stage, South Korea recently removed all Covid-19 social distancing regulations, with the exception of the mask mandate.
After peaking at over 620,000 in mid-March amid a surge fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron strain, Covid-19 infections had dropped to under 100,000 daily instances for days.
(with inputs from IANS)
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