
Seoul has great news for its citizens after 2 years of severe restrictions due to pandemics. As the COVID-19 cases remain minuscule in Seoul, the government has decided to lift all restrictions, however, the mask-on mandate will prevail as a precautionary measure.
On Friday the Seoul administration stated that after a surge in Omicron cases last year they saw a fall in cases this year and it fell drastically allowing health administrators to report the positive news to the South Korean government. Thereafter a decision was taken to lift all restrictions.
The government authorities said, “South Koreans have to continue wearing their masks whenever they are in a closed environment like malls, complexes, theatres for some more time, in a few weeks we shall lift wearing masks outdoors if the cases continue to plummet.”
Prime Minister Kim Boo-Kyum passionately addressed, ” The restriction of not more than 10 to be gathered shall be lifted and curfew on midnight business shall be lifted starting next week from Monday onwards.”
This decision is a clear indication that South Korea is getting back to business after a stringent restriction for the past 2 years, where not more than 10 people could gather; this had affected small-scale businesses.
Boo-Kyum further added, “Starting April 25th, eating inside the indoor facilities will be allowed, however, we urge citizens to continue wearing masks at malls, theatres, and official complexes as a precautionary measure to avoid any further surge in cases. We are working on lifting the outdoor mask restriction and we should be able to confirm in the next two weeks.”
Their health data clearly shows people are less prone to the virus when they are out in the open when compared to spending more time in closed environments, where the same air is circulated and is more prone to contamination. Several countries have lifted the restriction of wearing masks outdoors including the US, especially for vaccinated individuals.
This decision comes long after South Koreans bravely faced the Omicron outbreak, with cases per week falling much below 100,000 from a peak of 620,000 mid-March. Of the 51 million population, close to 85 % have been vaccinated with a large chunk getting booster jabs. South Korea plans to run a second booster jab drive for its people with weak immunity.