The Minister of the Interior and Safety said that the government will discuss whether mandatory wearing of masks indoors is necessary and come up with a final decision by the end of this month.
"In early November, the government announced that it would promote easing of the mandatory indoor mask-wearing measures after the peak of the winter resurgence passes," Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min said during a daily task force meeting on Wednesday. "At the next Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) on Friday, the government will discuss the mandatory mask wearing, have an open debate, and hold an expert advisory meeting on Dec. 15."
During the task force meeting, Lee also commented on the move of some local governments, such as Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province, to lift the obligation to wear indoor masks autonomously.
“As the winter season is expected to be the last hurdle of the resurgence, it is more important than ever to maintain a single quarantine system nationwide,” Lee said. “As major quarantine measures, such as social distancing, have been implemented through consultation with the CDSCH, it is only right that the relaxation of the mandatory indoor mask-wearing measures is decided through discussion with the CDSCH.”
Regarding the recent trend of the Covid-19 epidemic, Lee stressed that the continued increase for the past few weeks was finally reversed to a slight decrease last week.
“The number of new severely ill patients and deaths also slightly decreased last week,” Lee said. However, uncertainty is high as the R0, or an estimated reproductive rate of how many people may contract the virus from one infected person, was above one for the past seven consecutive weeks, and the number of new confirmed cases on Wednesday was the highest figure for a Wednesday in the past 12 weeks, he said
Increased indoor activity during winter is a major concern for the spread of infection, Lee added.
As a result, Lee asked for the understanding and participation of the public and local governments in wearing masks indoors.
On Wednesday, Korea added 74,714 new Covid-19 infections, including 60 cases from abroad, bringing the total caseload to 27,483,568, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
The nation also reported 54 more Covid-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 30,847. The fatality rate stood at 0.11 percent. The number of critically ill patients came to 441, down two from the previous day, the KDCA said.