Starting from Tuesday, the COVID-19 pass system for all multi-use facilities will be temporarily suspended.
The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced on Monday the government decision to suspend the pass system which has been implemented for eleven types of multi-use facilities, including restaurants and cafes, as well as facilities considered vulnerable to COVID-19, including long-term care facilities. Large-scale events drawing more than 50 people will also no longer be subject to the system.
The safety agency also unveiled plans to fully suspend the issuance of certificates for negative test results by public health centers. Those who need such certificates for personal reasons must now get them from private medical facilities from Tuesday. Currently, public health centers are estimated to be carrying out some 250-thousand rapid antigen tests on a daily average. An estimated 55-and-a-half percent of those tests were taken to secure certificates proving a negative result.
As part of the latest adjustments, the government’s plan to subject adolescents aged 12 to 18 to the COVID-19 pass system from Tuesday was also suspended.
The safety agency stressed that the latest measures are temporary, saying that they could be changed in response to the emergence of new variants or the nation’s vaccination status.
The agency said the latest adjustments were made to lessen the workload of public health centers and to address concerns over the equitability of the system’s enforcement for different age groups and regions.
Source: KBS World Radio