Jeju Island Maintains Social Distancing Level 3... Partial Adjustments by Sector

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] The social distancing level 3 measures and the ban on private gatherings of five or more people in Jeju Island will continue to be maintained.

On the 6th, Jeju Island announced that it will maintain the current social distancing measures in accordance with the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) extension plan, but will partially adjust sector-specific quarantine measures to enhance the effectiveness and acceptability of the prevention efforts.

Private gatherings of five or more people remain prohibited in Jeju. The province does not provide separate exceptions for direct family gatherings except for cohabiting family members, caregiving, or end-of-life situations, but considering the preliminary procedures for weddings, the number of attendees for matchmaking meetings will be allowed to increase from the existing 6 to 8 people. For first birthday parties (Doljanchi), the quarantine rules, which had been divided between specialized Doljanchi venues and other Doljanchi, will be unified, and the allowed number of attendees will increase from the current 4 to 16. Since mask-wearing is mandatory in Jeju, even those who have completed vaccination must wear masks indoors and outdoors without exception.

Meals, which were previously allowed at academic events held in Jeju, will be prohibited starting next week. Until now, academic events were permitted to include meals as long as there was no limit on the number of attendees and two seats were left empty between each seat, but concerns about fairness with general events and ambiguity in distinguishing the nature of academic events have been raised. According to the CDSCH measures, academic events will be allowed with fewer than 50 people if separate routes are established for each space, but meals will be prohibited.

For exhibitions and fairs, operations will be conducted by prior reservation, and compliance requirements such as meal bans will be the same as for academic events. The number of staff stationed per booth will be limited to two, and PCR testing will be mandatory for stationed personnel. Performances outside of regular performance facilities will be limited to one person per 6 square meters, with a maximum of 2,000 people under level 3. The province plans to continuously record the audience during performances to monitor compliance with quarantine rules. Quarantine measures for outdoor sports facilities will also be strengthened. The current ban on shower room use in indoor sports facilities will be extended to outdoor sports facilities, prohibiting the operation of all shower rooms in both indoor and outdoor sports facilities.

Businesses violating quarantine rules will be fined up to 3 million KRW, and users up to 100,000 KRW. If there is a high risk of infection, individual businesses may be ordered to close. If the violation of quarantine rules is serious and causes a cluster infection, the province plans to exercise its right to claim damages for quarantine costs, treatment expenses for confirmed cases, and other related costs. Violators of quarantine rules, including business operators, will be excluded from receiving support such as living support funds, the government's 4th disaster relief funds, and compensation for losses.

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