S. Korea to lift restrictions on business hours, adopt vaccine pass system starting Monday

Health officials released details of the roadmap for a phased return to normal at a public hearing Monday; the finalized plan will be announced Friday

Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Commissioner Jeong Eun-kyeong (left) listens to a presentation at a public hearing on the plan to conduct a phased return to normal life held in Seoul on Monday. (Kang Chang-kwang/The Hankyoreh)

With 70% of the population fully vaccinated against COVID-19, South Korea will take a big step toward a gradual return to normal life starting Monday.

The adoption of a "vaccine pass" will remove time restrictions at all facilities except those for entertainment. Starting in December, events and gatherings of up to 500 people will be allowed and the limit on the number of people will be lifted altogether in January.

The Central Disaster Management Headquarters, which operates under the Ministry of Health and Welfare, released these details on Monday at a public hearing for its draft plan to conduct a phased return to normal life. Starting Monday, Nov. 1, the plan is to lower the social distancing status to Level 3 through a four-week "operating period" and a two-week "risk assessment period." The first phase will lift restrictions on operating hours at all multi-use facilities.

Priority will go toward lifting restrictions on operating hours for what are considered the safest facilities — namely private schooling academies, movie theaters, performing arts venues, study rooms and internet cafes. At movie theaters, only those who can verify full vaccination status or produce a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test will be exempt from restrictions on the number of people allowed to attend together and the mandate of leaving one seat empty between viewers. They can also consume food and beverages while watching a film.

The curfew for restaurants and cafes, which ranges from 10 pm to midnight, will also be lifted.

In select industries, the easing of social distancing will come with the adoption of a vaccine pass system to verify full vaccination or testing negative for COVID-19. Currently, gatherings of more than four people require such verification, but with these changes, solo patrons will be required to provide the same types of proof. Karaoke rooms, public baths and indoor sports facilities will have no limits on operating hours if patrons prove that they are fully vaccinated or have recently tested negative.

People enjoy a day out in the streets of Myeongdong in Seoul on Sunday, one day after South Korea hit a 70% vaccination completion rate — a key milestone for the gradual transition to normal life. (Yonhap News)

At indoor sports facilities such as fitness centers, patrons will be permitted to use showers and speed limits on treadmills will be lifted. Because Level 4 of social distancing bans gatherings, Level 3 will allow entertainment facilities, colatheques, dance halls, bars and “hold 'em pubs” to extend business hours from 10 pm to midnight if they adopt the verification system.

Events and gatherings such as weddings and fairs can admit up to 100 people if the unvaccinated attend, but the limit rises to 500 if only those who have proof of vaccination status or a negative test are in attendance. Outdoor sporting venues such as baseball stadiums are allowed to open seating at half capacity regardless of vaccination status, but sections exclusively for those fully vaccinated can be filled to full capacity and allow spectators to consume food and drink.

The number of people allowed to partake in private gatherings will raise from eight to 10, regardless of participants’ vaccination status. Restaurants and cafes may allow up to four unvaccinated people to dine together, but this number could fall to two or three during the phased return to normalcy.

If the pandemic situation does not worsen in terms of the number of hospital beds, the second phase, starting Dec. 13, will allow for large-scale events and gatherings to have as many people as desired if everyone is fully vaccinated or produces a negative COVID-19 test. The lifting of restrictions on business hours at entertainment facilities, colatheques and dance venues is also under consideration.

In the third phase, projected to start on Jan. 24, the 10-person limit for private gatherings set in the first two phases will be lifted.

Per the government's early draft of the plan, the metric of infectious disease prevention and control will change from the number of confirmed cases to the vaccination rate, the number of intensive care units (ICUs), hospital beds, critically ill patients and deaths, and the scale of the pandemic’s spread.

A contingency plan that would suspend eased social distancing has also been prepared in the event that risk increases through a surge in the number of critically ill and deaths following the return to normal routines.

Temporary emergency measures will be invoked if the medical system faces collapse — determined by if the occupancy rates of ICUs and hospital beds exceed 80% or the weekly number of critically ill patients and deaths surges.

Other measures being discussed include expanding the system to verify vaccination or a negative test to all multipurpose facilities for four to six weeks, raising the limit on the number of people at private gatherings again, and limiting the size and times of events.

The plan will be finalized and announced Friday by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters after a government committee to support the return to daily life holds its third meeting Wednesday.

By Kim Ji-hoon, Kwon Ji-dam and Lee You-jin; staff reporters

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