Government and Churches Consider Lifting 'Small Gathering Ban'... "Considering Whether Cases Occurred in the Last Two Weeks"

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The government has decided to consider lifting administrative measures such as the ban on small gatherings at religious facilities, including churches. This comes as the number of cluster infections of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has significantly decreased.

Park Neung-hoo, First Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of Health and Welfare), said at a regular briefing held at the Government Seoul Office on the 19th, "The number of cluster infection cases at religious facilities has greatly decreased recently," and added, "If the current low-risk level is maintained, we believe that administrative measures on churches can be lifted soon."

Earlier, considering the spread of COVID-19 centered around church gatherings, the government strengthened quarantine rules from the 10th of this month by banning small face-to-face meetings such as retreats, Bible study groups, and choir practices that are not regular worship services. However, churches themselves were not designated as high-risk facilities.

Regarding the lifting of administrative measures such as restrictions on small church gatherings, Deputy Head Park said, "The most important consideration will be how many confirmed cases occur over the past two weeks or one week."

He continued, "In the past two weeks, there have been almost no confirmed cases linked to religious facilities," and added, "We believe we have entered a stage where we can actively consider easing the classification of religious facilities as high-risk facilities soon."

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