Korea to lift indoor mask mandate, mostly, on Jan. 30

One of the last countries in the world to do so, Korea has decided to lift its indoor mask mandate on Jan. 30. "The mandate will be adjusted to a recommendation," said Prime Minister Han Duck-soo in a Covid-19 response meeting in Seoul on...

Pedestrians wear masks at Seoul Station on Friday, when the government announced that the indoor mask mandate would mostly be lifted on Jan. 30, except on public transportation and in medical facilities. [NEWS1]

One of the last countries in the world to do so, Korea has decided to lift its indoor mask mandate on Jan. 30.

"The mandate will be adjusted to a recommendation," said Prime Minister Han Duck-soo in a Covid-19 response meeting in Seoul on Friday. “We found that three out of the four standards that we had set for lifting the indoor mask mandate are met: namely, stabilization in patient numbers, decreasing numbers of patients in critical condition, and the readiness of medical response capacity."

Masks will still be required on public transportation and in medical facilities such as hospitals, clinics and pharmacies.

Korea reported its first Covid-19 case exactly three years ago on Friday, on Jan. 20, 2020.

Masks have been required in both indoor and outdoor spaces from Oct. 13, 2020. The outdoor mask mandate was lifted in degrees starting last May, and completely on Sept. 26 last year.

Most countries around the world have lifted their mask mandates, with only a handful of others, such as Egypt, Taiwan and Japan, still requiring masks indoors. Both Taiwan and Japan had also recently announced they may lift the indoor mask mandate after the Lunar New Year holidays.

The indoor mask mandate is one of the last Covid-19 measures to be lifted in Korea, as the country implemented and lifted measures throughout the three-year battle with the pandemic, once banning the export of masks and limiting the purchase of masks at pharmacies to five per person due to a buying frenzy amid spiking cases; limiting the number of people allowed to gather in public spaces; mandating that certain businesses such as pubs, clubs and bars close before a certain hour at night; requiring vaccine passes to visit nursing homes; and requiring pre- and post-flight Covid-19 tests.

The seven-day quarantine mandate for those infected with Covid-19 still stands.

Korea reported 27,408 new cases as of midnight Thursday, which was 2,408 less than the day before, bringing the country's total tally to 29,955,366, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

A total of 453 patients were in critical condition as of midnight Thursday, and a total of 30 people died Thursday, bringing the total deaths to 33,134 at a death rate of 0.11 percent.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]