Government to Ease 'Public Vehicle 2-Day Rotation' and 'Single-Use Product Regulations' for COVID-19 Response

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] In response to the government's escalation of the COVID-19 crisis alert to 'Severe,' the public institution vehicle operation on alternate days system will be temporarily suspended, and the areas exempted from disposable product regulations will be expanded.

On the 25th, the Ministry of Environment announced that to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and minimize community transmission, the public vehicle operation on alternate days system currently implemented in the metropolitan area and six special/metropolitan cities will be temporarily suspended starting today.

The public vehicle operation on alternate days system was introduced as part of the 'Special Measures for High Concentration Fine Dust Periods' established in November last year. It was implemented from December to March, the season with high fine dust concentrations, to encourage national and public institutions to take the lead in reducing fine dust.

However, to reduce the possibility of COVID-19 transmission within communities and to enable national and public institutions to fully respond to accident management and quarantine activities, the public vehicle operation on alternate days system will be temporarily suspended until the current situation ends.

Along with this, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced that the exemption from disposable product regulations will be applied nationwide. According to the Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety, when the infectious disease crisis alert level is 'Warning' or higher, disposable product regulations in food service establishments can be temporarily exempted.

Following the issuance of the 'Warning' level on the 27th of last month, local governments were allowed to temporarily permit disposable products in food service establishments in places with frequent domestic and international access, such as airports and KTX/train stations, based on their judgment.

With the crisis alert level upgraded to 'Severe' on the 23rd, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters expanded the exemption from disposable product usage regulations to all regions and notified local governments to operate flexibly according to their circumstances.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.