Kwon Deok-cheol "First Day of Gradual Daily Recovery... Please Do Not Forget Quarantine Rules"

Kwon Deok-cheol, 1st Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of Health and Welfare). / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] On the first day of the "gradual return to daily life (With Corona)" on the 1st, the quarantine authorities emphasized future risk factors such as winter, unvaccinated individuals, and year-end and New Year gatherings, urging continuous compliance with quarantine rules.

Kwon Deok-cheol, the 1st Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of Health and Welfare), presided over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on the morning of the 1st, stating, "Today is the day we take the first step toward a gradual return to daily life," and added, "We plan to promote gradual easing in three stages by comprehensively evaluating the quarantine situation."

Accordingly, from the 1st, restrictions on operating hours for business facilities will be completely lifted, and the number of people allowed in private gatherings will be up to 10 in the metropolitan area and 12 in non-metropolitan areas, regardless of vaccination status. However, some high-risk facilities will introduce the "Quarantine Pass (vaccination certificate and negative test confirmation system)," allowing only those who have completed vaccination or have a negative PCR test to use them. Additionally, in restaurants and cafes vulnerable to infection, unvaccinated individuals can only gather in groups of up to four.

Minister Kwon said, "The foundation for the gradual return to daily life was built thanks to the cooperation and efforts of the people," and once again urged continuous compliance with quarantine rules.

He added, "We expect several challenges ahead that are no less difficult than before," noting that experts point out risk factors such as ▲infection spread due to indoor activities in winter ▲the existence of more than 10 million unvaccinated people ▲decreased immunity among previously vaccinated individuals ▲year-end and New Year gatherings. Regarding this, Minister Kwon emphasized, "Please do not forget the quarantine rules and thoroughly practice them in daily life, such as wearing masks, ventilating indoor spaces regularly, and promptly getting tested if symptoms appear."

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