Korea removes the requirement to wear masks outdoors

South Korea said on April 29 that it would lift the requirement to wear face masks outdoors next week, marking the country’s latest step to ease restrictions. COVID-19despite objections from the incoming government of president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, who said the decision was “too early”.

Reuters quoted South Korean Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum as saying that the decision was made because the government wanted to solve the inconvenience that people have to experience when the epidemic situation in the country is stabilizing.

People are still required to wear masks at events attended by 50 or more people, such as at rallies, concerts and sports stadiums, the prime minister said.

South Korea reported 50,568 new COVID-19 cases on April 29, down sharply from a peak of more than 620,000 cases a day in mid-March.

The decision was made just days before President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s inauguration on May 10, despite objections from the transition team.

“The transition team agreed to push for the removal of the mask to return to normal life, but we have emphasized many times that it would be too much to remove the mask outdoors at this point. soon,” a spokesman for the transition group, Mr. Hong Kyung-hee, told a meeting.

Ahn Cheol-soo, the head of the transition team, also said earlier this week that the new government would consider removing the requirement to wear masks outdoors around the end of May.

South Korea has lifted most of its pandemic-related precautions, including a midnight curfew for restaurants and other businesses. The country has made great strides in disease prevention thanks to widespread vaccination promotion, active tracing and containment efforts.

According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 87% of the population of 52 million South Koreans have been fully vaccinated, of which 65% have also been vaccinated. vaccines repeat.