Indoor Sports Facilities 'Quarantine Pass' Guidance Period Ends... Fines Imposed for Violations Starting Today

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] Starting today, the grace period for all facilities subject to the quarantine pass (vaccination certificate and negative test confirmation) ends, and facility managers and users who violate the quarantine pass guidelines will face fines or suspension orders.

According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters on the 15th, the grace period for all facilities subject to the quarantine pass ends at midnight today with indoor sports facilities. The grace period for the quarantine pass was from the 1st to the 7th of this month, but for indoor sports facilities, it was extended until the 14th due to concerns that more time was needed for the system to settle.

Accordingly, facility managers and users who violate the quarantine pass guidelines will be subject to fines or suspension orders going forward.

Managers of high-risk multi-use facilities or infection-vulnerable facilities where the quarantine pass applies must verify users' vaccination certificates before entry. Facilities subject to the quarantine pass include entertainment venues, karaoke rooms, indoor sports facilities, bathhouses, horse racing, cycle racing, motorboat racing, casinos, medical institutions, nursing hospitals and facilities, and facilities for the elderly and disabled.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters explained, "It is recommended that facility users use electronic certificates (COOV app, Kakao, Naver, etc.) that are easy to verify for authenticity and can be used alongside electronic entry logs. Since entertainment venues, karaoke rooms, horse racing, cycle racing, motorboat racing, casinos, and indoor sports facilities cannot operate handwritten entry logs according to multi-use facility quarantine rules, the QR code of the electronic certificate can be verified through the electronic entry log."

However, in the case of paper certificates where QR code verification is difficult, visual comparison with an ID card is possible.

Jung Eun-kyung, head of the Central Disease Control Headquarters, stated, "The quarantine pass is a necessary measure to prevent COVID-19 infection and transmission through high-risk facilities during the recovery phase of daily life," adding, "For those who have not yet been vaccinated, using facilities subject to the quarantine pass such as indoor sports facilities may be somewhat inconvenient, but please complete vaccination or obtain a negative PCR test to protect yourself and others from COVID-19."

Currently, the quarantine pass is not required for school attendance or restaurants and cafes. Although confirmed cases are increasing recently, mainly among the elderly and adolescents, the Central Disease Control Headquarters is not yet considering expanding the quarantine pass to adolescents.

Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Accident Response Headquarters, said at a briefing that day, "The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters is not reviewing applying the quarantine pass to booster shot recipients and adolescents using general multi-use facilities," and added, "The issue of expanding the quarantine pass to general multi-use facilities for those under 18 has not been formally discussed or reviewed."

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