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. Yonhap

Gov't to announce Friday when mask requirement will be lifted

By 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 the peak of the current wave.

The indoor mask mandate, imposed in October 2020, is one of the last remaining COVID-19 curbs in Korea along with a 7-day isolation requirement for virus carriers.

There were differing views among experts about specifically when the requirement should be lifted. Some suggested that it can be scrapped right after the holidays from Jan. 25, while others viewed that it is appropriate to end the mandate from Jan. 30 at the earliest considering the increased travel during the Lunar New Year holidays.

The advisory panel delivered opinions to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, based on which the ministry will announce detailed timelines this Friday.

Despite the recent downward trend in the number of infections and hospitalizations here, the health authorities have been cautious about lifting the mandate due to the risk of an influx of infections from China.

Nevertheless, during a briefing on Wednesday, health officials said the country has met the criteria to lift the mask-wearing rule.

Face masks are on display at a store in Myeong-dong, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

"The country has met three out of four criteria based on which we assess whether to remove the mask mandate. And the expert panel has judged that the nation has passed the peak of infections. Based on these opinions, we will announce detailed measures this Friday," said Lim Sook-young, a senior health official during a briefing.

Earlier in December, the government announced an exit plan for the mask mandate, which will be carried out in two phases. In the first phase, masks will no longer be a requirement in public places except for high-risk facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies and public transportation.

The country will enter the first phase if two out of four criteria are met. The four criteria are: a stable number of daily infections and specifically, continuously declining infection numbers over a two-week period, reductions in the number of critical cases and the fatality rate, a sufficient capacity of ICU beds to treat critically ill patients and booster vaccination coverage among the elderly.

Currently, three out of these four criteria ― except for booster vaccination coverage among the elderly ― have reached target figures.

The government will also decide whether to enter the second phase, where the mask mandate will be fully lifted in all indoor spaces, if the coronavirus is downgraded to the lowest level of its four-tier infectious control system. The disease is currently classified at Level 2.