Daejeon City "Indoor Mask Wearing 'Mandatory → Voluntary'... Some Exceptions Like Public Transportation"

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Indoor mask-wearing will be switched to voluntary. However, some facilities such as public transportation are excluded from the voluntary mask-wearing policy.

On the 20th, Daejeon City announced that from the 30th of this month, the mandatory indoor mask-wearing will be lifted, allowing voluntary mask use. This comes 839 days after indoor mask-wearing was made mandatory on October 13, 2020, due to strengthened quarantine measures.

However, the city explained that masks must still be worn in places protecting vulnerable groups to infection, such as medical institutions, pharmacies, nursing hospitals and nursing facilities, mental health promotion facilities, welfare facilities for the disabled, and on public transportation including buses, taxis, and subways.

This measure aims to prevent the lifting of the indoor mask mandate from leading to cluster infections within vulnerable facilities.

To protect vulnerable groups, the city will provide masks to hospitals, clinics, nursing hospitals and nursing facilities, mental health promotion facilities, and welfare facilities for the disabled, so that visitors can wear masks when using these facilities. This is a precaution in case people forget to bring masks amid the shift to voluntary indoor mask-wearing.

Additionally, in preparation for a temporary increase in confirmed cases following the lifting of indoor mask requirements, 436 dedicated COVID-19 beds will be operated, and emergency systems will be organized and strengthened to ensure that treatment for COVID-19 patients does not miss the golden time.

Furthermore, the city plans to enable one-stop COVID-19 testing and treatment at 315 hospitals and clinics to establish autonomous quarantine measures within the region.

Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo said, “With the voluntary indoor mask-wearing, the only remaining COVID-19 related regulation is the mandatory 7-day isolation for confirmed cases,” adding, “The city will do its best to reorganize and strengthen the general medical system so that COVID-19 can be treated and managed like a common cold, enabling citizens to fully return to normal life.”

Meanwhile, the voluntary indoor mask-wearing policy was implemented following the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters’ decision, which comprehensively considered the recent trend of COVID-19 cases decreasing after peaking in the 7th wave, the reduction in severe and fatal cases, the availability of intensive care beds, and sufficient immunity acquisition among high-risk groups.

Earlier, Mayor Lee Jang-woo of Daejeon was the first among local government heads nationwide to propose making indoor mask-wearing voluntary last October, taking into account overseas cases and the long-term public sentiment toward quarantine. The implementation of voluntary indoor mask-wearing this month was realized about four months after his proposal.

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