Facilities with Lifted Quarantine Passes Under Review for Strengthened Quarantine Measures Application

Easing Entry Restrictions for Academies but Limiting Total Capacity and Internal Activities
Possibility of Stricter Quarantine Measures

Omicron Variant Spread Also a Variable

Self-Employed Grow Increasingly Frustrated with Inconsistent Quarantine Policies

The government has decided to lift the quarantine pass for facilities with a low risk of COVID-19 transmission, such as large supermarkets, movie theaters, museums, private academies, and reading rooms. On the 17th, citizens were moving to shop at a large supermarket in Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporters Chunhee Lee, Joinkyung Jo, Daehyun Kim] The government’s decision to lift the vaccination certificate and negative test confirmation system (quarantine pass) for certain low-risk facilities such as large supermarkets, department stores, and academies has caused confusion in the government’s quarantine measures. If the quarantine rules from the previous high-intensity social distancing are applied to facilities where the quarantine pass has been lifted, there is a possibility that the quarantine measures could become even stricter for activities other than entry and exit. The lifting of the quarantine pass only for some facilities has intensified the backlash from self-employed business owners excluded from this exemption, raising concerns that one of the means to respond to the spread of the Omicron variant has been lost.

"Omicron to Become Dominant Strain This Weekend"... Other Measures Likely to Be Strengthened

The government plans to apply alternative quarantine measures such as density restrictions to facilities where the quarantine pass has been lifted. Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, explained earlier, "We considered strengthening density regulations as the quarantine pass was discontinued for study facilities such as reading rooms," but added, "We did not implement it immediately due to concerns about various social disruptions."

Considering that the government previously allowed indoor eating in movie theaters where the quarantine pass was applied, using the quarantine pass as a means of phased quarantine relaxation, it is possible that for these facilities where the pass has been lifted, entry qualifications may be relaxed but total occupancy could be limited or internal activities restricted, introducing stronger quarantine measures. Food courts and department store dining areas are classified as restaurants and cafes, so the current quarantine pass guidelines remain in effect. Therefore, unless used by a single individual alone, users must present a quarantine pass or prove they are exempt to use these facilities.

Given the rapid spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, some argue that it is premature to ease quarantine measures such as lifting the quarantine pass. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency expects that by this weekend, Omicron will become the dominant strain, accounting for more than half of domestic infections.

Professor Eun-mi Cheon of the Respiratory Medicine Department at Ewha Mokdong Hospital stated, "Compared to Delta, Omicron releases more virus in the upper respiratory tract (nose to larynx) and has a shorter infectious period, so an increase in confirmed cases is inevitable regardless of quarantine pass application," diagnosing that "dominance is expected starting this week." She argued, "Even if the quarantine pass is lifted in department stores and large supermarkets nationwide, measures are needed to ensure compliance with quarantine guidelines in high-risk areas where the pass remains, such as food courts."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Self-Employed Business Owners: "Only We Face Triple Restrictions"

Self-employed business owners such as restaurants, cafes, and PC rooms, which were excluded from the quarantine pass exemption, are strongly protesting. With ongoing restrictions on private gathering sizes and shortened business hours, the continued application of the quarantine pass means triple operational restrictions, leading to complaints that "the more we cooperate with quarantine measures, the greater our losses."

Self-employed business owners are frustrated that small business owners and individual entrepreneurs are being left behind amid the government’s inconsistent quarantine policies. Lee, who runs a cafe in Ogeum-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, said, "The government initially introduced the quarantine pass excessively and now lifts it only for marts and department stores without any clear criteria," raising her voice, "If they lift the quarantine pass for all department stores nationwide citing regional equity, why don’t they consider equity across industries?"

Although the government has relaxed the maximum number of people allowed in private gatherings to six, demands to ease business hours rather than the number of people continue. Currently, restaurants and cafes stop taking orders around 8 p.m. to close by 9 p.m., so self-employed business owners argue that extending business hours by just one hour would have a much greater impact on sales.

Jo Jihyun, representative of the Self-Employed Emergency Countermeasures Committee, pointed out, "While the quarantine pass is lifted for large supermarkets and department stores, double and triple operational restrictions remain for self-employed businesses," adding, "Policies that only demand sacrifices from self-employed and small business owners have caused losses to snowball and increased loan repayment pressures, forcing many to give up their businesses altogether."

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