"'Ding Dong' Sound Means No Entry: Vaccine Pass Validity Period Enforced Starting Tomorrow"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Cho] Starting from the 3rd, the quarantine pass (vaccination certificate and negative test confirmation system) will have an 'expiration date.' People whose expiration date is approaching must receive a third vaccination to maintain the validity of the quarantine pass.

According to quarantine authorities on the 2nd, the validity period of the quarantine pass is from 14 days after the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine (for Janssen recipients, after the first dose) up to 6 months (180 days).

Accordingly, those who completed their primary vaccination series on or before July 6 of last year and have not received a booster shot will no longer be able to use facilities requiring a quarantine pass, such as movie theaters, starting from the 3rd.

The expiration date can be checked on the 'COOV' application, an electronic vaccination certificate. After 14 days from the second dose, a '14 days passed' message appears, and after 180 days, an 'expiration date expired' message is displayed. If the validity period has expired, when the app screen is scanned, instead of the voice message saying "Vaccination completed," a ding-dong sound will be heard, and entry to the facility will be denied.

The quarantine pass validity period will undergo a one-week grace period until the 9th. Fines or administrative penalties for violations of the quarantine pass validity period will be imposed starting from the 10th.

The quarantine pass applies to a total of 17 types of multi-use facilities (large-scale stores, movie theaters and performance halls, entertainment facilities, singing practice rooms including coin karaoke, indoor sports facilities, bathhouses, bicycle racing, motorboat racing, horse racing, casinos, restaurants and cafes, academies, reading rooms and study cafes, multi-rooms, PC rooms, indoor sports stadiums, museums, art galleries, science centers, party rooms, libraries, massage and therapy establishments). Quarantine passes will be applied to large-scale stores with an area of 3,000㎡ or more, such as department stores and large marts, starting from the 10th.

The youth quarantine pass will be implemented from March 1. However, those aged 12 to 17 are not recommended for the third dose and therefore are not subject to the quarantine pass expiration period.

People with disabilities who have difficulty using electronic certificates can use paper vaccination certificates or vaccination stickers issued by public health centers. Those exempt from vaccination for medical reasons can receive a quarantine pass exemption certificate by bringing a medical certificate and opinion letter to the public health center. Additionally, unvaccinated individuals who wish to use quarantine pass facilities must present a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) negative test certificate issued within 48 hours.

Meanwhile, the number of new COVID-19 confirmed cases recorded 3,833 as of midnight on the 2nd, dropping below 4,000 for the first time in five days. However, the number of critically ill patients remained in the 1,000 range. The number of deaths the previous day was 69, bringing the cumulative death toll to 5,694.

The number of domestic Omicron variant infections increased by 93 in one day, with a cumulative total of 1,207 cases.

Also, the domestic COVID-19 vaccination completion rate as of midnight on this day is 83.0% (a cumulative total of 42,601,615 people). The third dose has been completed by 18,476,748 people, accounting for 36.0% of the total population.

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