S. Korea to remove most virus restrictions as omicron slows
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea will remove most pandemic restrictions, including indoor gathering limits, as it slowly wiggles out of an omicron outbreak officials say is stabilizing.
People will still be required to wear masks indoors, but authorities could remove an outdoor mask mandate if the coronavirus further slows over the next two weeks, Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said in a government briefing Friday.
Starting next week, authorities will remove a 10-person limit on private social gatherings and lift a midnight curfew at restaurants, coffee shops and other indoor businesses. Officials will also remove a ban on large political rallies and other events involving 300 or more people.
People will be allowed to eat inside movie theaters, religious facilities, bus terminals and train stations starting on April 25.
The new measures were announced as the country reported 125,846 new cases of the coronavirus, continuing a weekslong downward trend after infections peaked in mid-March. The country’s one-day record was 621,187 on March 17.
While health workers reported 264 virus-related deaths in the latest 24 hours, more than half of the country’s 2,800 COVID-19 intensive care units remained available.
Kwon pleaded that people remain vigilant against the virus, saying officials will be forced to tighten social distancing again if the pandemic brings another huge wave of infections.
He said it has become difficult to prolong social distancing rules, considering people’s fatigue and frustration with extended restrictions and the toll on the service sector economy. Social distancing measures have become less effective as tools to slow transmissions because omicron has been so much more contagious than previous variants of the virus, said Son Youngrae, another...
