S. Korea lifts all social distancing measures for first time in two years, mask mandate remains
2년1개월만 거리두기 전면해제... 신규확진 12만5846명 With South Korea's daily COVID-19 tally dropping like a stone as the Omicron surge wanes,... health authorities will start removing all current social distancing measures. However, despite speculation it would go, the outdoor mask mandate stays for now,... at least. Choi Min-jung reports. South Korea will be lifting all social distancing rules for the first time in over two years. Some measures have been in place since March 2020,... but now people will be able to enjoy their lives much like they did before the pandemic. "As promised several times, the government has decided to boldly lift social distancing rules,... one of the most important anti-virus measures,... now that the virus situation and medical system is under control." Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum announced Friday, that the ban on social gatherings of more than ten people will be lifted,... and businesses will be able to open for 24 hours starting next Monday. This means people can gather with as many people as they want,... without curfews. Large events including at places of worship and rallies,... can now be held without limits on capacity. And from April 25th, people will also be able to enjoy movies and concerts indoors while having something to eat. However, people will still be required to wear masks at all times. Indoor mask mandates will remain for the time being. Authorities had been considering the lifting of outdoor mask mandates,... but they have decided to put that on hold for now. The mask wearing requirement for outdoors may change,... after the government assesses the country's virus situation over the next two weeks. The eased measures follow a declining number of infections. South Korea reported 125-thousand 8-hundred 46 new cases on Friday. The figure has remained in the 100-thousand range for three days in a row now. We are continuing to see a downward trend,... as cases dropped by more than 22-thousand compared to a day ago,... and by almost 80-thousand on-week. The number of severely ill patients remains at just under 1-thousand,... and there were 2-hundred 64 additional deaths. The Prime Minister also announced that from April 25th, COVID-19 will be downgraded in its classification of infectious diseases. Currently, it's categorized as a Level 1 Infectious disease,... the highest on the government's four-tier scale... and regarded as the most dangerous. A downgrade to Level 2 would mean self-isolation will no longer be mandatory for anyone infected with COVID-19. Choi Min-jung, Arirang News. #COVID19 #Coronavirus #SouthKorea 📣 Arirang News(Facebook) : / arirangtvnews 📣 Arirang News(Twitter) : / arirangtvnews 📣 News Center(YouTube) : / newscenter_arirangtv 2022-04-15, 12:00 (KST)
