Next Year, Will 'No Mask' and 'No Quarantine' Be Possible?

Minister of Health Cho Kyu-hong's Press Conference
"If upgraded to a Level 4 infectious disease, linked quarantine obligations will be reviewed for lifting"

Indoor mask easing to be announced soon
"Difficult to specify the exact timing"

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] As expectations arise that the indoor mask-wearing mandate will be lifted early next year, there is also a possibility that the isolation requirement for COVID-19 confirmed cases will be lifted accordingly.

On the morning of the 19th, Minister of Health and Welfare Kyo-hong Cho explained at a press briefing held at the Sejong Government Complex regarding the lifting of the isolation requirement for COVID-19 confirmed cases, "In April, criteria for transitioning the isolation mandate were established, and evaluations began in June, but I understand that the evaluation was suspended due to the resurgence of COVID-19. Once the winter epidemic situation stabilizes and COVID-19 is reclassified as a Class 4 infectious disease, related discussions will be resumed in connection with this," he said.

Currently, COVID-19 confirmed cases must isolate for 7 days from the specimen collection date regardless of vaccination status. This isolation mandate exists because COVID-19 is classified as a Class 2 infectious disease. Among the five classification levels of infectious diseases, Class 1 and 2 require isolation. COVID-19 was designated as a Class 1 infectious disease in January 2020 when the first domestic case was confirmed, but was adjusted to Class 2 in April considering vaccination rates and the distribution of oral therapeutics. Some voices are calling for further adjustment to Class 4, which does not require mandatory isolation. Influenza is a representative Class 4 infectious disease, and the argument is to ease COVID-19 management to a level similar to influenza.

A mask-wearing notice is placed at a store in Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Minister Cho stated that a roadmap for easing the indoor mask-wearing mandate will be released soon, but it is difficult to specify the timing of the adjustment. He explained, "We can present criteria for easing the mandate, but due to the uncertainty of the epidemic situation, it is difficult to specify a particular adjustment time. We will monitor the quarantine situation and gather expert opinions to make a decision."

Regarding the direction of easing the mandate, he said, "We are considering transitioning to recommendations and voluntary wearing except for essential facilities. Since we need to establish specific directions and criteria to provide convenience and predictability to the public, we plan to announce this after reporting to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on the 23rd."

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