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| A notice attached at Sinchon Station on Seoul Metro line 2, Sunday, reads that the indoor mask mandate will be lifted inside stations and platforms from Monday, but that subway users will still be required to wear masks on trains. Yonhap |
66% of people choose to stick with masks despite eased rule: survey
By Lee Hyo-jin
An indoor mask mandate imposed nationwide comes to an end, Monday, with few exemptions such as hospitals and public transit. But it remains to be seen whether Koreans will immediately stop wearing masks, a practice they have gotten used to for the last three years.
Following an announcement by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), people are no longer legally obliged to wear a mask indoors beginning at midnight, except at hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies, welfare centers for people with disabilities, and public transportation.
The decision to relax the mask-wearing policy was based on four metrics ― the number of new cases, hospitalization, medical capacity, and vaccination rate among the elderly, the KDCA said.
People will still be required to wear masks on subway trains, buses, taxis, ferries and planes. However, the health authorities noted that masks are optional in subway platforms, train stations, bus terminals and airports.
Although the mask rule has been lifted in schools, private cram schools and kindergartens, it is still mandatory in school buses, as they are classified as public transport. The mask mandate is scrapped in shopping malls and retailers, but people should still wear masks when visiting pharmacies located inside such facilities.
Health authorities noted that the easing of the mandate does not mean that masks are no longer effective in preventing the spread of the virus and stressed that the vulnerable population, and those experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, are "strongly recommended" to mask up.
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| Subway commuters wearing masks on a platform at Sinchon Station, Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap |
The scrapping of the mask mandate, which comes three years after the country confirmed its first case of the virus, represents a major milestone in the government's shift in pandemic response.
Nevertheless, not many Koreans seem to be ready to bid farewell to the masks.
Lotte Members surveyed 2,200 adults on Jan. 11 and 12 and found that 66 percent of the respondents said they would still cover their faces indoors, even if they are not legally obliged to do so. By facility, when allowed to choose multiple answers, 68 percent replied they would wear masks on public transportation, 52 percent in department stores and retailers, 52 percent in theaters and concert halls, followed by 47 percent in wedding halls and funerals.
Nearly 60 percent of the respondents said they were uncomfortable about ditching the mask due to lingering risks of infections.
A trainer surnamed Choi, 33, who works at a gym in Yangcheon District, Seoul, said she would keep wearing a mask for the time being.
"I feel awkward about showing the bottom half of my face to other people, and I think the mask has been very helpful in preventing me from catching other diseases like the flu," she said. "Plus, some of my clients may feel uncomfortable about not wearing masks during training sessions, so I'll have to see what they think."
Meanwhile, the KDCA said it will actively review relaxing the seven-day mandatory self-isolation rule on virus carriers ― the last remaining COVID-19 curb here ― once the World Health Organization (WHO) decides to end the state of Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) over the coronavirus.
The WHO held its 14th emergency meeting on Jan. 27, based on which Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will announce the organization's final decision as early as Jan. 30.
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