QR Check-in Disappears from Department Stores and Marts... First Day of 'Entry Log Creation' Suspension

QR Code Long Lines Disappear "Inconvenience Reduced"
Dining and Other Venues Maintain Quarantine Pass... Staff Also Provide Guidance

On the 19th, a notice about the non-operation of entry log management was posted at a mart in Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] "Where should I scan the QR code?" "You can just enter."

At around 10:30 a.m. on the 19th, the first day after the abolition of entry log registration, at a large supermarket in Seoul. Citizens who came early in the morning to shop seemed unfamiliar with the disappearance of the QR check-in machines at the entrance. A notice was posted in front of the store stating, "Due to the government's restructuring of the quarantine system, the obligation to manage entry logs has been lifted," and an employee was informing confused customers about this fact.

Citizens entered without much inconvenience. Kim Seon-hwa (61), who visited the store, said, "The staff guided me, so I learned that I didn't have to use the QR code," adding, "It feels a bit awkward not doing something I used to do every time." There were also criticisms that QR check-ins should have been stopped earlier. One citizen said, "No matter how many confirmed cases there are, you can't just stop shopping," and added, "They say contact tracing isn't being done properly, so there was no reason to keep scanning QR codes for a long time."

In department stores, QR check-in machines and Safe Call notices also disappeared. Only thermal cameras for fever checks and hand sanitizers remained at the entrance, and there were no staff members assigned to assist customers having difficulty using QR check-ins. A department store customer said, "I used to take out my phone and wait in line because of the QR code every time, so it's good that inconvenience like that has disappeared."

On the 19th, at the entrance of a department store in Seoul, only a thermal imaging camera and hand sanitizer are placed without a QR check-in machine.

However, the quarantine pass is still maintained for 11 types of multi-use facilities such as restaurants and cafes, so when using them, vaccination records must be checked or negative test certificates submitted. This also applies to food courts in department stores and supermarkets. To reduce customer confusion, staff assigned to the food courts individually guided customers on vaccination verification when using restaurants. Although there was no major confusion, some users responded, "I didn't scan a QR code when entering, but now I have to scan again when using the restaurant, which is confusing."

The quarantine authorities decided to temporarily suspend the operation of entry logs required when entering multi-use facilities from this day, following changes in epidemiological investigation methods. Lee Ki-il, the first controller of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, said the day before, "Since epidemiological investigations and contact tracing management have shifted to focus on high-risk groups, managing entry logs for broad contact tracing has become less effective," and added, "The mandatory entry log measure will be temporarily suspended."

Until now, when entering multi-use facilities, visitor logs had to be recorded in three main ways?QR codes, Safe Call, or handwritten logs?to trace visitors if a confirmed case had visited or a cluster infection occurred. The quarantine authorities' measure means that ‘facility user and contact tracing’ will be suspended for the time being. In other words, it is no longer necessary to fill out a separate entry log when using all facilities.

It should be noted that only the entry log is no longer required, but the 'quarantine pass' applied to 11 types of multi-use facilities remains in effect. Currently, to use entertainment facilities, karaoke rooms, bathhouses, indoor sports facilities, bicycle racing, motorboat racing, horse racing tracks, restaurants and cafes, PC rooms, multi-rooms, massage parlors, party rooms, and indoor sports stadiums, vaccination records or negative test confirmation must be presented.

Since QR codes were mainly used to verify vaccination records, when using these facilities, the store can check vaccination status using the existing QR code reader. Even if only vaccination status is confirmed through the COOV (electronic vaccination certificate) app, which was previously not usable for facility entry, facility use is now possible.

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