Living Quarantine Guidelines Reflecting Visiting Workers and Business Trips to Be Released by the End of This Month (Update)

COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Regular Briefing
"Living Social Distancing Guidelines to be Revised and Supplemented After Collecting Opinions"

On the 5th, the opening day of the 2020 professional baseball season, the Chinese CCTV crew is covering the game between Doosan and LG at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, held without spectators. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporters Choi Daeyeol, Jo Hyun-ui] Regarding the living social distancing guidelines to cope with the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) situation, the government plans to release supplemented guidelines by the end of this month after collecting opinions and making additions or corrections. The guidelines will reflect the characteristics of workplaces such as visiting workers like care workers and business trips.

Kim Kang-lip, the 1st General Coordinator of the COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, stated in a briefing on the 6th, "We plan to announce a revised edition around the end of May after continuously collecting opinions from the public and stakeholders on the 31 detailed guidelines prepared by 12 ministries and discussing them through the Living Quarantine Committee."

The government previously disclosed a draft in late last month and finalized the basic and detailed living social distancing guidelines after discussions, announcing them on the 3rd. The guidelines include basics such as staying home for 3-4 days if sick, maintaining an arm's length distance between people, and washing hands for 30 seconds, covering what should be observed during work, daily life, and leisure. Visiting labor is considered one of the industries most affected by social distancing, and it is interpreted that the government judged it necessary to prepare separate guidelines and normalize the situation promptly.

The government decided to establish a Living Quarantine Task Force composed of related ministries to ensure these guidelines take root as soon as possible, continuously monitoring implementation status in each field and operating a management system. Additionally, the guidelines have been broadcast on 40 industrial safety and health electronic signboards nationwide and widely publicized to workplaces through safety and health-related SNS, the Industrial Health Association, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the Korea Employers Federation, and other related organizations and private groups. Even if not included in the existing finalized guidelines, the government plans to add detailed guidelines by facility and type based on future opinions and revise the existing content if necessary.

Furthermore, the government will comprehensively support measures to prevent infection spread, such as increasing support for flexible work systems to reduce workplace density and providing family care expenses. According to the Disaster and Safety Headquarters, from late February to the end of last month, the number of applicants for flexible work system support was 40,330, about 23 times more compared to January and February. Family care support was applied for by about 90,000 people, with 78,922 receiving support as of the end of last month, amounting to approximately 22.9 billion KRW.

Meanwhile, the quarantine authorities decided to thoroughly monitor the COVID-19 surveillance system from the day of the briefing until the 20th, two weeks after the holiday ends, in relation to the transitioned living social distancing. Kim, the General Coordinator, said, "Living social distancing does not mean the end of COVID-19," adding, "The goal is to block large-scale transmission and prevent cluster infections even if infections occur in the community."

Starting with professional baseball, which opened on the 5th, professional soccer on the 8th, and professional women's golf on the 14th will begin without spectators. Depending on the COVID-19 situation, spectator admission will be gradually expanded. Sports competitions can be held step-by-step by local governments or sports organizations hosting the events, considering characteristics such as indoor/outdoor scale, individual/team, and contact frequency. However, student competitions are planned to gradually resume after next month in connection with school reopening schedules. Regional festivals will continue to follow the current policy, postponing or canceling events with high risks due to large gatherings.

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