Gwanghwamun Station on Seoul Metro Line 5 is crowded with people wearing face masks in this photo taken on Oct. 16, 2020, three days after the government mandated universal mask wearing across the country. Newsis

Mask mandate likely to remain until next spring as 'twindemic' looms

By Lee Hyo-jin

After nearly two years since the indoor mask mandate was first implemented in Korea, experts are debating whether the government should review lifting the requirement, as a number of countries have lifted or eased the mandate.

To help curb the spread of the coronavirus, the government required mask wearing both outdoors and indoors starting from Oct. 13, 2020. The outdoor mask mandate was lifted on May 2 of this year, as the number of new infections showed a downward trend after the Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 wave peaked in March.

But the requirement to wear masks in indoor spaces such as offices, cafes, hospitals and public transportation has remained in place, with violators subject to a fine of 100,000 won ($72).

However, now that other countries such as Denmark and Singapore, along with states in the U.S., have removed or eased the mask requirement for indoor spaces, some are urging the Korean government to make similar adjustments.

"Ultimately, the indoor mask mandate, as well as the mandatory self-isolation rule for virus carriers should be scrapped," said Jung Jae-hun, a professor of preventive medicine at Gachon Medical School. "There could be differing views (among experts and authorities) on when would be the right time to remove the measures, but Korea is at a stage to begin discussions on it."

He advised that the authorities should gradually ease the mask mandate, for instance, by first lifting the requirement for facilities with a relatively low risk of virus transmissions and easing the rule for children among other age groups.

Child development experts have expressed concerns that the prolonged wearing of face masks could have a negative impact on the children, slowing their language and social development as they are unable to watch the faces and mouths of adults.

A sign posted in a cafe in Jung District, Seoul, May 3, reads that customers are required to wear a face mask. Newsis

Jung Ki-suk, a professor at the department of respiratory diseases and allergies at Hallym University, who heads the government's COVID-19 special response team, said that indoor masks could be removed next spring.

"I hope the mask rule might be eased in Korea as it was in European countries," he said during an MBC radio interview, Tuesday, sharing his recent experience at a respiratory disease conference held in Europe. "Even respiratory physicians were not wearing masks indoors, which made me think that we (Korea) could go the same way."

Jung added that it would likely be safe to remove the mandate next spring after the upcoming winter flu season, while watching how the pandemic develops.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), for its part, is taking a prudent stance on ending the mask mandate, considering the looming threat of a twindemic ― a severe flu season occurring at the same time as a surge in coronavirus cases.

"There is a high possibility that we will see both infectious diseases (the flu and COVID-19) spreading. We are seeing a spike in flu patients, which was not observed in the past couple of years," said Lim Sook-young, a senior KDCA official, during a briefing.

In response to queries about when the mask requirement will be lifted, she said, "We will review the timing to lift the mask rule by monitoring the virus situation in the country and overseas and gather experts' opinions as well."

Meanwhile, the KDCA reported 93,981 new infections for Tuesday, raising the cumulative total to 24,193,038. The daily figure jumped by nearly 37,000 from the previous day, likely due to increased travel and gatherings during the first Chuseok holidays (from Sep. 9 to 12) since social distancing measures were lifted.