Since Monday, South Koreans are no longer required to wear the mask outdoors. The country, often presented as a model in the fight against the pandemic, has managed to get through the various epidemic waves while keeping a very low mortality rate.
With our correspondent in Seoul, Nicholas Rocca
As the number of cases continues to drop, South Koreans could take advantage of a sunny Monday to do drop the mask for the first time since October 2020.” All this is possible thanks to the patience and cooperation of the population over a long period of time. said Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.
But at first glance, it was hard to see that wearing a mask was no longer mandatory outdoors. Most residents of the capital preferred to continue to protect themselves. ” I don’t feel safe walking down the street without my mask. The Covid situation here is always complicated and then I still have to carry it inside so I don’t see the point of taking it off to put it back on “says Kaeun, in her thirties. However, with only 20,000 new cases on Monday, South Korea was experiencing the lowest level of spread of the virus in three months.
” I am very happy and relieved »
JeonQ was looking forward to this day. ” I am very happy and relieved because I never liked wearing a mask outside, I was just waiting to be able to be freed from this constraint “, he rejoices. Youna also preferred to take advantage of the lifting of the ban, but she did not expect to see so many of her fellow citizens wearing the mask outside: “ I was very happy this morning to be able to take off my mask but when I went out I saw that everyone was wearing it, which discouraged me a little, but I ended up taking it off anyway. »
After two years of pandemic, health habits die hard in South Korea, perhaps one of the reasons for the country’s success in fighting the virus. The mask remains however compulsory in transport, inside public places as well as during gatherings of more than 50 people.