Mask mandate for hospitals lifted as Covid-19 alert lowered

Visitors and staffers at hospitals and other medical facilities will not be required to wear face masks starting Wednesday as most remaining Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.

A notice on Covid-19 measures is posted on the entrance of a university hospital in Seoul on Wednesday. Visitors and staffers at hospitals and other health care facilities will not be required to wear face masks starting Wednesday as most remaining Covid-19 restrictions were lifted. [NEWS1]

Visitors and staffers at hospitals and other medical facilities will not be required to wear face masks starting Wednesday as most remaining Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.

The mask mandate is no longer in effect for health care facilities as the national crisis level for Covid-19 was lowered to "concern," the lowest level of the four-tier system, from the second highest level, "alert," per an April 19 decision by the Central Disaster Management Headquarters, the control tower overseeing Korea's Covid-19 response.

The agency lowered the crisis level from the highest tier, "serious," to "alert" last June.

Most of the remaining restrictions have now been lifted.

Indoor mask requirements for hospitals and other residential facilities will be completely lifted, and visitors to infection-prone facilities, including elderly care facilities, will not have to take Covid-19 screening tests for entry.

The previously recommended five-day quarantine for infected individuals has been shortened to 24 hours as long as their Covid-19 symptoms, such as fever and cough, improve.

Government subsidies for Covid-19 tests and vaccinations will also be slashed.

The government will not cover Covid-19 tests, but it will partly subsidize the Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) fee for intensive care unit patients, emergency room visitors, nursing home patients and individuals taking oral antiviral pills.

Beginning Wednesday, patients except for medical aid beneficiaries and low-income groups will be charged 50,000 won ($36) for oral antiviral medications, such as Paxlovid, to treat Covid-19.

The free vaccinations for all Korean nationals will end this year. They will subsequently be limited to high-risk groups, including those who suffer from autoimmune disorders and older adults aged over 65.

BY WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]