Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Jung-yoon = The government announced on the 15th that it will lift the mandatory mask-wearing requirement for public transportation, such as subways and buses, starting on the 20th of this month.

The government also decided to sequentially resume the operation of Korea-China international passenger ships, which had been suspended since January 2020, starting on the 20th.

Han Chang-seop, the second deputy head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (acting Minister of the Interior and Safety), stated that this decision was made at the headquarters meeting held on the same day.

The lifting of the mask mandate for public transportation comes 2 years and 5 months after the central government-level mask mandate was first implemented in October 2020.

Second Deputy Head Han explained the background, saying, "Since adjusting the indoor mask-wearing mandate on January 30, the daily average number of infections has decreased by 38%, new severe cases have dropped by 55%, and no new variants have emerged, indicating a stable quarantine situation."

However, he added, "We strongly recommend that people using public transportation during peak hours, high-risk groups, and those with symptoms continue to wear masks."

Along with this, the government will also lift the mask-wearing mandate for open-type pharmacies located within large facilities such as marts and train stations starting on the 20th.

General pharmacies will maintain the mask mandate, considering the probability of visits by people with suspected symptoms and high-risk groups.

Second Deputy Head Han stated that protecting high-risk groups, such as those aged 60 and over, is essential, adding, "The government will increase the additional vaccination rate and prescription rate of therapeutic agents for high-risk groups to minimize the severity and fatality rates, and will also prepare the 'COVID-19 Daily Recovery Roadmap' without any setbacks."

These are English translations of articles from our GTTOUR Japanese website.