"Youth Quarantine Pass Will Continue to Be Adjusted... Must Prevent Infections in Karaoke Rooms, PC Rooms, and Restaurants"

On the morning of the 18th, teenagers aged 16 to 17 are receiving the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination at Hongik Hospital in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The quarantine authorities announced that they will continue to adjust the youth quarantine pass (vaccination certificate and negative test confirmation system) to protect adolescents during the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant.

On the morning of the 18th, Son Youngrae, Head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said in a phone interview with MBC Radio's 'Kim Jongbae's Focus' that "the purpose is to block infections among adolescents in places like karaoke rooms, PC rooms, and restaurants."

From this day, the government lifted the quarantine pass requirement for six types of facilities nationwide, including large supermarkets, department stores, academies, study rooms, museums, and movie theaters. As a result, 135,000 facilities (11.7%) out of a total of 1.15 million quarantine pass applicable facilities were excluded from the quarantine pass requirement. These places were judged to be facilities where masks can be worn at all times and activities that release droplets are minimal.

Son explained the background of the adjustment, saying, "The youth quarantine pass is currently suspended only in the Seoul area due to a court ruling. For adolescents, there was significant debate about including educational facilities that involve learning rights, and there were criticisms that 'the restrictions imposed on youth rights are too severe.'"

Son also emphasized the necessity of vaccination for adolescents. He stated, "The infection rate among adolescents is currently high. Although the overall number of COVID-19 cases has decreased as the epidemic subsides, 25% of confirmed cases are occurring in those aged 18 and under."

He added, "Since we have immediately appealed the court's suspension of the youth quarantine pass in Seoul, we plan to continue explaining that the youth quarantine pass should be maintained focusing on facilities, excluding educational institutions, during the explanation process."

Meanwhile, regarding concerns about whether exceptions to the quarantine pass should be applied to those with underlying conditions or vaccine side effect concerns who find it difficult to get vaccinated, he said, "There are unavoidable reasons for not being able to get vaccinated that qualify for exceptions to the quarantine pass." He added, "(The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency) is working with experts to expand these applicable exceptions, and a decision is expected to be announced within this week."

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