It was one of the last Covid-19 restrictions still in place in the country. Compulsory since October 2020, wearing a mask indoors will no longer be required except in public transport and medical establishments, from January 30, i.e. “after the Lunar New Year holidays”announced on Friday, January 20, the authorities of South Korea.
However, the objective is that the wearing of the mask indoors is ” recommended “, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said at a government meeting on the Covid-19 response strategy. Curfews for businesses and social distancing measures had long been removed. However, people who test positive for SARS-CoV-2 will still need to self-isolate for seven days.
“External risk factors deemed sufficiently manageable”
According to the Prime Minister, this decision was taken in view of the response capacity deemed solid by the South Korean health system, the reduction in the number of serious cases and deaths due to SARS-CoV-2, as well as the downward trend in new infections.
“External risk factors were also deemed manageable enough”, he added, in an apparent reference to Seoul’s recent response to the spike in cases in China. In response to the health restrictions imposed by South Korea on Chinese travelers, Beijing announced last week the removal of the visa exemption for South Korean citizens.
Nearly 30 million South Koreans have been infected with SARS-CoV-2, and more than 33,000 have died from Covid-19, according to official data. The strategy of South Korea, a country which has tested massively without ever imposing compulsory confinement, was welcomed at the start of the health crisis and quickly set up as a model in the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic.