Korean government declares end to Covid-19 emergency

Korea declared an end to Covid-19 as a health emergency, lifting nearly all Covid-19 restrictions after three years starting June 1 and marking a de facto transition to an endemic disease.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, sends off health care workers who fought on the front lines of the Covid-19 pandemic after a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on Thursday, where he declared a lowering of the national crisis level for Covid-19. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

Korea declared an end to Covid-19 as a health emergency Thursday, lifting nearly all Covid-19 restrictions after three years starting June 1.

The declaration marks the de facto transition of the virus to an endemic disease.

President Yoon Suk Yeol announced that Korea will be lowering the national crisis level for Covid-19 from a "serious" level to "alert" while presiding over a meeting of the Central Disaster Safety and Countermeasure Headquarters on Thursday morning.

With the downgraded level, starting next month, the Covid-19 isolation period will be reduced from the current mandatory seven days to a recommended five days.

All indoor mask mandates will be lifted except for hospitals with vulnerable inpatients. Likewise, the recommendation for PCR tests within three days after entry into the country will also be removed.

"I am pleased that the people are returning to their daily lives after three years and four months," Yoon said in the meeting, effectively declaring that the disease has become endemic.

An infectious disease becomes endemic when it becomes a constant, predictable or expected presence.

It was the first time that Yoon headed such a Covid-19 response meeting in nine months, the last one being on July 29, 2022.

Korea has so far removed most Covid-19 restrictions, with the exception of mask mandates in high-risk places like hospitals and pharmacies.

Yoon said the government will continue to support expenses for Covid-19 tests and treatments for the time being as a transitional measure.

He went on to thank medical staff and experts, including doctors and nurses, as well as government officials, for their dedication in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and offered them a round of applause.

"Above all, I am deeply grateful to our people for their active cooperation in social distancing measures," he added.

He promised to carefully prepare post-Covid policies to prepare for a possible new pandemic and foster future growth engines.

"The government has been doing its best to build an expert-centered, science-based response system, moving away from political quarantine," Yoon said. "We will raise our standards and strengthen international cooperation."

The move comes after the World Health Organization declared an end to Covid-19 as a global health emergency last Friday.

The first Covid-19 case in Korea was confirmed on Jan. 20, 2020.

The crisis level for Covid-19 was raised from "caution" to the highest "serious" level in February that year, and Korea declared its first social distancing measures on Feb. 29, 2020.

The first Covid-19 vaccinations were introduced in the country in February 2021.

On April 25, 2022, the Covid-19 infectious disease classification was downgraded from the highest Class 1 to Class 2. Most social distancing measures, including curfews for restaurants and other businesses, were eased, with the exception of mask mandates. The mandatory isolation period for travelers arriving in Korea was lifted that June.

Earlier this year, on March 20, Korea removed most remaining Covid-19 restrictions, including mandatory mask-wearing on public transportation.

With the government's latest downgrading of the crisis level, the mask mandates at clinics and pharmacies will be lifted, but face coverings will still be obligatory for the time being at hospitals with inpatients and residential medical facilities with groups vulnerable to infectious diseases.

Covid-19 screening clinics that offer PCR tests for high-risk groups will continue to remain in operation, while the nine remaining temporary screening centers will close. One-stop medical institutions that can diagnose, treat and prescribe Covid-19 patients and medical counseling and information centers for home treatment patients will also continue to operate.

People will continue to be offered free Covid-19 vaccinations.

Health authorities will release data on confirmed cases on a weekly basis rather than a daily basis like now.

However, Korean health authorities pointed out that the lifting of virtually all restrictions doesn't mean that Covid-19 is gone.

Korea reported 20,574 daily cases, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Thursday, down from 23,521 the previous day, a three-month high.

There are still more than 100,000 confirmed cases per week in Korea, and in the past month, 239 people died of coronavirus.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]