‘No major difficulties’ in lifting mask rule on public transport, says top COVID official

There will be "no major difficulties” in lifting the rule to wear face masks on public transportation in the country, and a decision is likely after Wednesday, Jung Ki-suck, chief of the country’s COVID-19 response team said Monday.

Speaking at a briefing Monday, Jung said that the matter of changing the mask mandate for public transportation into an “advisory” had been brought to the advisory board, and that most of the experts on the board agreed with the idea.

“(The issue) will likely be discussed at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting on the 15th, and I think the (mask) mandate for public transportation will soon disappear,” Jung said.

While no dates have been mentioned, speculations have arisen that the rule to wear masks on public transportation in Korea will likely be lifted from March 20 if the central response team approves the move on Wednesday.

If the move is given the go-ahead, face mask rules placed in response to the pandemic in October 2020 will be fully lifted in the country, with the exception of medical facilities including hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies and welfare centers for people with disabilities.