Restaurant and gym operating hours extended until 11 PM... Government "Social distancing eased from the 5th"

COVID-19 Risk Still 'High'... "Medical Response Capacity Within Manageable Levels"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Starting from the 5th, the government has decided to extend the operating hours of restaurants, cafes, and indoor sports facilities, including entertainment venues, by one hour until 11 PM. This is part of easing social distancing measures in line with the government's reorganization of the quarantine system.

On the 4th, Jeon Hae-cheol, the 2nd Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety), stated, "After careful consideration, we have decided to extend the operating hours of 12 types of multi-use facilities, including restaurants and cafes, which are currently allowed to operate until 10 PM, by one hour from the 5th to the 20th." He explained, "Since various measures such as the suspension of the vaccine pass and exemption from mandatory self-quarantine for cohabitants are being implemented, there were many opinions that social distancing should also be linked to these."

The 12 types of multi-use facilities include entertainment venues, restaurants and cafes, karaoke (coin) practice rooms, bathhouses, indoor sports facilities, PC rooms, multi-rooms and arcades, party rooms, casinos, massage parlors and therapy centers, lifelong vocational education academies, and movie theaters and performance halls.

This easing of social distancing measures actively reflects the increasing difficulties faced by self-employed individuals and small business owners. Deputy Head Jeon said, "Despite the expanded compensation for losses and partial easing of social distancing measures implemented so far, the difficulties of self-employed and small business owners, which have continued for a long time, have further intensified." He emphasized, "We will continue to improve the COVID-19 response system based on objective evaluations of medical capacity, including stable management of severe cases."

He also reiterated that although the COVID-19 risk level remains at a 'high' level, it is manageable. Deputy Head Jeon said, "The utilization rate of intensive care unit beds has increased to about 50%, but key quarantine indicators such as cumulative fatality rate and severity rate are currently manageable within the medical response capacity."

He added, "We will continue to increase the utilization of beds by continuously expanding negative pressure and isolation beds, operating beds 24 hours a day, and shortening hospitalization days."

Regarding the early voting period for the presidential election on the 4th and 5th, the government announced a policy to allow COVID-19 quarantined individuals to go out for election purposes starting from 5 PM on the 5th. Deputy Head Jeon explained, "The government allows quarantined individuals to go out for election purposes to guarantee their voting rights. Those who arrive at the polling stations before 6 PM can safely participate in voting at dedicated temporary polling booths separated from general polling stations."

Meanwhile, in response to the surge in COVID-19 cases and the resulting difficulty in blood supply, the government announced that March will be designated as the 'Month of Continuing Blood Donation.' Deputy Head Jeon said, "To stabilize the blood supply, the government plans to designate March as the 'Month of Continuing Blood Donation' for government agencies and will focus on promoting group blood donations."

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