Government to Restrict Private Gatherings for 4 Weeks Beginning Dec. 6: Up to 6 People Allowed in the Greater Seoul Area and 8 People in Other Areas

[경향신문]

On the evening of December 2, when authorities confirmed the first Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus in South Korea, citizens line up to get tested for COVID-19 at a temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul Plaza in front of Seoul City Hall. Han Su-bin

The government decided to strengthen disease control measures beginning December 6 and will reduce the number of people allowed to come together for a private gathering--up to six people can gather in the Seoul metropolitan area and up to eight people in other areas.

On December 3, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum presided over a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters in response to COVID-19 and in his opening statement, he said, “To quickly contain the spread of the virus, which is increasing at a fast pace, we will tighten restrictions on the number of people attending private gatherings.” The new distancing measures will be enforced for four weeks beginning December 6.

The government will also expand the “vaccine pass” policy to public facilities including restaurants and cafes.

The prime minister said, “With a high vaccination rate as our basis, we will expand the ‘vaccine pass’ to all areas in order to reduce the risk of contagion in our daily lives.” He also said, “It will be applied to most public facilities including restaurants and cafes and we plan to have a one-week introduction period for effective implementation on the field.”

Beginning February 2022, the vaccine pass will be applied to facilities frequented by teenagers.

Kim said, “Teens ages eighteen and younger account for an increasing number of COVID-19 cases, so we cannot delay the vaccination of teenagers,” and added, “We will vaccinate teenagers in the next two months, and the decision was made after taking into consideration the time necessary to build immunity.”

The prime minister also mentioned that the vaccine was the strongest defense against COVID-19 and stated booster shots for older adults and the basic vaccination of teenagers as the keys to disease control. In the end, he said, “I sincerely ask the people in these groups to actively take part and get vaccinated.”