New COVID Guidelines in South Korea
Welcome back to Surviving in the World (SIW), your newsletter written by students, for students interested in global affairs. We always strive to present select topics in global news in an easy-to-understand format.
Today’s letter covers recent developments around the world, including new “withCOVID” guidelines in South Korea, brought to you by Clair Park, Korea correspondent (’25)
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​Word Count: 336 / Time: 2 minute read.
Situational Awareness: Since experiencing an exponential surge in COVID-19 cases between January to March 2022, the pandemic has been somewhat abated in South Korea. According to Reuters, Korea now averages about 20,000 new cases a day.
Students play football without masks at an elementary school in Daejeon following the end of the outdoor mask mandate. (Source: NEWS1)
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Why Is This?
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Declining infection rates could be due to a variety of reasons starting from the development of herd immunity to the increase in public awareness of health and safety protocols. However, a high proportion of vaccination likely contributed the most.
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Thus, Korea has recently transitioned from its no-COVID policy to a “with-COVID” policy and declared that the virus is no longer a public health emergency.
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The Results: Starting on April 18th, South Korea lifted all COVID-19-related social distancing measures, and on April 29th, it abolished outdoor mask restrictions.
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Uplifting social distancing measures and living in a ‘with-COVID’ society now look like the following:
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No restrictions for private gatherings/large gatherings/assemblies.
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No business hours or multi-use facility time limits.
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No number or time regulations for average schools or workplaces.
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The Bottom Line: Overall, many are relieved to find the balance and freedom that the “with-COVID” policies have brought. Nevertheless, even though our situation has been getting better, we should all remember that at-risk populations, such as the elderly, still face considerable danger from the virus, which is why we should continue to follow government guidelines for masking requirements indoors.
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