South Korea imposes new vaccine pass policy to encourage booster shots
오늘부터 '딩동' 소리 나면 식당 카페 입장 불가 It's the first Monday of 2022 and authorities in South Korea have rolled out new policies to widen the scope of vaccine passes and encourage booster shots. This includes a six-month expiration period for vaccine passes. Shin Ye-eun reports. South Korea on Monday reported 3-thousand 1-hundred 29 new COVID-19 infections. This is a dip of more than 1-thousand from last Monday. The number of critically ill patients was at 1-thousand-15. And another 1-hundred-11 Omicron cases were found. Also from this Monday, several new vaccine pass policies take affect. An expiration date will be implemented... which means vaccine passes will only be valid for six months. In other words, after six months have passed since a person received their final jab... they will now need a booster shot in order to enter most public places. This includes those who were fully vaccinated before July. A one-week grace period is being granted to avoid any confusion. But once that grace period is over, those who violate this policy will be fined. Like always, people can certify their vaccination status when visiting different public facilities, like restaurants and cafes... using the COOV app. That app, which people can use to prove their vaccination status, will now also show whether it has been over 180 days since they received their last jabs. And devices reading the COOV app will make a "ding-dong" sound if a person is not fully vaccinated or when their vaccination certificate has expired. To avoid any complications, authorities have asked everyone to update their COOV app to the latest version in advance. Also, authorities have decided to make vaccine passes necessary at department stores and large supermarkets from January 10th. And to extend them to 12 to 18 years olds from March 1st. Toughened virus prevention measures have been extended for another two weeks. This includes limiting social gatherings to four people nationwide and restricting business operation hours to 9 or 10 pm. But there has been a slight change in the operating hours for movie theaters and performance halls, allowing them to stay open until midnight as long as customers enter before 9 pm. All these restrictions are set to last until January 16th. Shin Ye-eun, Arirang News #COVID19 #booster_shot #vaccine_pass 📣 Arirang News(Facebook) : / arirangtvnews 📣 Arirang News(Twitter) : / arirangtvnews 📣 News Center(YouTube) : / newscenter_arirangtv 2021-01-03, 12:00 (KST)
