photo source, News1
On the morning of the 30th of last month, citizens wearing masks are moving in Sindorim Station, Guro-gu, Seoul during rush hour.
Some local governments and the central government are disagreeing over the timing of lifting the mandatory wearing of masks indoors.
Daejeon City and Chungcheongnam-do are considering independently lifting the obligation to wear indoor masks starting next month at the earliest. These local governments are in the position that the obligation to wear a mask indoors is not effective in a situation where masks are already taken off in restaurants.
However, the central quarantine authorities say that the quarantine network must be maintained unified regardless of region, and it is not yet time to lift the obligation to wear indoor masks as the winter flu and Corona 19 epidemics go hand in hand.
‘We will adapt to the local situation’ vs ‘We must maintain a single quarantine network’
Previously, on the 2nd, Daejeon City announced that it would lift the indoor mask duty on its own from January next year by issuing an administrative order if there is no decision by the quarantine authorities to lift the wearing of indoor masks by the 15th.
In an official letter delivered to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters in Daejeon City, ▲ Most people in restaurants and cafes do not already wear masks, so the effectiveness of wearing masks indoors is low ▲ Indoor masks for children’s emotional, language, and social development I heard that wearing is negative ▲ that there are an increasing number of cases in foreign countries where the mandatory wearing of masks indoors has been lifted.
On the 5th, Chungcheongnam-do Governor Kim Tae-heum declares an indoor no-mask at a meeting of the head of the bureau, revealing his own stance.
Then, on the 5th, Chungcheongnam-do Governor Kim Tae-heum said at a meeting of the heads of state offices regarding the obligation to wear an indoor mask, “I wonder how effective this is in preventing Corona 19.” At the same time, he ordered the working-level staff to “actively review the issue of lifting the mandatory wearing of masks, which is currently causing various controversies, from our standpoint.”
The central government has made it clear that it opposes the movement of these local governments.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) announced in an explanatory material on the 3rd that the lifting of the obligation to wear indoor masks will be implemented through the decision of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters in accordance with the quarantine measures implementation procedure so far.
On the 5th, Jeong Ki-seok, head of the Corona 19 Special Response Team and National Infectious Disease Crisis Response Advisory Committee (herefollowing referred to as the advisory committee), emphasized the importance of consistent quarantine.
Chairman Chung said, “Korea is a daily living area, so it is a country that is in Seoul in the morning and in Mokpo in the evening.” do,” he pointed out.
photo source, News1
Jung Ki-seok, head of the Corona 19 Special Response Team and head of the National Infectious Disease Crisis Response Advisory Committee, holds a regular briefing at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on the morning of the 5th at the annex of the Seoul Government Complex in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
Chairman Jeong also said, “The advisory committee has recently held two in-depth discussions on the issue, but the controversy continues, so we decided to look at the trend for the time being.” At the same time, he explained that the Agency for Disease Control and Prevention would hold an open debate on the quarantine policy twice on the 15th and 26th, and that the discussion on removing the indoor mask would continue.
On the other hand, the government is in the position that the indoor mask duty should be maintained at least until spring, citing the increase in flu in winter.
Chairman Chung said, “If you take off your mask at school, there will be an enormous flu epidemic, and Corona 19 will naturally spread.” This spread is expected, of course,” he said.
In addition, he emphasized that a careful approach to whether to remove the indoor mask should be taken in consideration of unfair deaths and the risk burden of high-risk people, saying, “If you take off your indoor mask right now, it is obvious that infection will increase, and the number of critically ill patients and deaths will increase as well.”
As a condition for releasing the indoor mask, he achieved the target of additional vaccine vaccination during the winter season (50% for those aged 60 or older, 60% for residents and workers in vulnerable facilities) targeted by the quarantine authorities, ▲ a decrease in the severe disease rate and the number of deaths, and ▲ a prescription rate for special drugs. As the weather got colder, it suggested solutions to the three-cylinder (3密 = close, dense, closed) environment.
Why is the government hesitant to lift the indoor mask mandate?
Previously, the government eased the obligation to wear masks outdoors from May 2. At that time, it was possible for each individual to wear or take off a mask outdoors according to the situation, but it was compulsory for participants in gatherings of more than 50 people or spectators to performances and sports events to wear masks.
However, the obligation to wear outdoor masks was completely lifted in September. This is a measure taken regarding 17 months following it became mandatory to wear a mask indoors and outdoors where a distance of more than 2m between people cannot be maintained since April of last year.
As the outdoor mask duty has been completely lifted, and there are situations in which restaurants and cafes rarely wear masks except when entering, some people are arguing that the use of masks is useless.
However, on the other hand, there are also voices of concern that the situation of using public transportation such as subways and buses with high density and the situation of office workers who have to work in dense offices should be considered. In fact, in Guro in March 2020 and Gwangju in February 2021, there were cases of group infection by call center employees.
how other countries are doing
Meanwhile, among OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, Korea is the only country that maintains the obligation to wear masks in all indoor places.
In September, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) surveyed 19 of the 38 OECD countries that might be collected, and found that 7 countries — the United States, Denmark, Slovenia, Turkey, France, Hungary, and the Netherlands — do not have to wear masks indoors.
Except for some places such as medical and social welfare facilities and public transportation, the remaining 12 countries, including Germany and Italy, do not have to wear masks in most indoor spaces such as airports, private workplaces, sports stadiums, and religious facilities.
The rest of the OECD countries, such as the UK, Spain, Belgium, Finland, Sweden, and Norway, which were omitted from the Agency for Disease Control and Prevention, are also compulsory in some places such as medical facilities, or recommend wearing a mask only when ‘respiratory disease is suspected’.
In Japan, wearing a mask is recommended, but wearing a mask has become common, and many people are wearing masks.
