NEWS: Living with covid in South Korea

The whole world is still in a time of health crisis, and each government is managing it in its own way.

South Korea, given the large and growing number of people vaccinated, wants to start a new phase called “living with the covid“.

According to Yonhap News, the country is expected to phase out restrictions that are underway. A sort of roadmap was put in place by a committee in order to be able to return to a normal life. The vaccination rate in the country having exceeded 70% of the population.

Currently in South Korea, cafes and restaurants in metropolitan Seoul can only open until 10 pm at night, while elsewhere they are allowed until midnight. One of the first measures would be to allow the opening for all until midnight. Likewise in greater Seoul, leisure establishments, such as clubs, do not have the right to open, the first measure would allow their reopening.

For this, the authorities will introduce the “Vaccine Pass” which will prove either a vaccination or a negative test for these different places. It should start next month.

A second phase which should be carried out from the month of December will focus on places of reception with a lot of public such as concerts and major events, which again will put in place the “vaccine pass“. If currently the public reception gauges oscillate between 20 and 30% of the capacities, they should during this second phase reach 75%.

A final stage should arrive around the end of January with a complete lifting of the restrictions. For the moment the committee has yet to meet in order to specify the various exact dates.

Journalist: Shawn
Translator: Shawn
Source: Yonhap news