"Private Gatherings Limited to 10 People · Business Hours Extended Until Midnight" ... Again, Relaxation

"Jeongjeom Jina" to be applied from next week
Funeral support funds for the deceased also discontinued

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung, Sejong = Reporter Kim Hye-won] The government has decided to increase the allowed number of private gatherings from the current 'up to 8 people' to 'up to 10 people' starting next week. The operating hours of multi-use facilities such as restaurants and cafes will also be extended from 'until 11 PM' to 'until midnight.'

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum held a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters for COVID-19 at the Government Seoul Office on the morning of the 1st and announced this adjustment policy for social distancing.

Although the Omicron wave is showing a gradual decline, the government judged that there remains a risk of a rapid increase in confirmed cases if all quarantine measures are lifted. Therefore, the current social distancing measures will be slightly eased. The new social distancing measures will be applied for two weeks from Monday, the 4th, to Sunday, the 17th.

Prime Minister Kim said, "This decision was made after careful consideration, listening to voices from various sectors of society and respecting the opinions of the Presidential Transition Committee," adding, "If the number of severe cases and deaths decreases over the next two weeks and the medical system is stably managed, we will boldly reform the remaining quarantine measures such as social distancing."

Along with the easing of social distancing, the government has decided to stop providing funeral support payments that had been given in cases of death due to COVID-19. These payments were provided to comfort bereaved families who often could not be with their loved ones at the time of death due to the policy of 'cremation first, funeral later.' However, with recent guideline changes allowing 'funeral before cremation,' the support payments will be discontinued.

Prime Minister Kim said, "As Omicron, which had been spreading for more than two months, has now passed its peak and entered a decline, we will expedite the reform of existing systems and practices to fit the changed characteristics of COVID-19," adding, "We hope that our country can become the world's first to transition to an 'endemic' infectious disease."