Growing Controversy over the Fairness of COVID-19 Business Restrictions: Improvement Is Urgent [Editorial]

[경향신문]

On January 4, one member of an empty fitness center in Yongsan-gu, Seoul works out. The government allowed the operation of small academies including taekwondo and ballet studios and ski resorts, while banning the operation of indoor sports facilities when extending the 2.5 physical distancing in the Seoul metropolitan area. This has fueled controversy over the fairness of government measures. Lee Joon-heon

The government decided to extend the current physical distancing--level 2.5 in the Seoul metropolitan area and level 2 in other areas--for two weeks until January 17, but this has led to controversy over fairness due to different business restrictions even among similar businesses. In the Seoul metropolitan area, which is currently imposing a level-2.5 distancing, the government continued to ban the operation of indoor sports facilities, such as gyms, while allowing small sports facilities registered as academies, such as taekwondo and ballet studios, to resume business on condition that they only have up to nine students during any one class. Gym owners are collectively protesting the latest measure and are opening their businesses. It is hard to ignore the argument of gym owners who ask why the government is allowing some to operate while blocking others, when taekwondo and ballet studios and health clubs are all the same indoor sports facilities.

Due to the heated debate, on January 5, the government said, 밒ndoor sports facilities tend to produce a lot of respiratory droplets in closed spaces, and it is hard see this as having the same characteristics as academies in terms of preventing contagion,