Korea mulls over removing indoor mask-wearing mandate for infants

The Korean government announced that it is reviewing lifting the outdoor face mask mandate completely. It added it would thoroughly mull over whether to remove the indoor mask mandate for children as some medical professionals raise concerns that mask-wearing can impair development in kids.

Korea's Central Disease Control Headquarters said on Tuesday that the recent COVID-19 resurge via BA.5 variant has passed its peak, and the effective reproductive number of the disease has stabilized. The agency continued that it would first lift the outdoor mask mandate if the present mask mandates were removed because being outside reduces the risks of infection.

The government lifted the outdoor mask-wearing mandate in May except for large gatherings of 50 people or more. If outdoor mask mandates are eliminated, people can enjoy outdoor sports and large-scale concerts without wearing a mask.

“We are aware of the concerns that the emotional, linguistic and social development of infants may be impaired by mask-wearing and the resulting concerns related to children wearing masks,” the headquarters also said. “It will fully review when and for whom among those children the indoor mask-wearing mandates should be eased.”

The government is poised to end its nationwide mask mandates because it believes that the COVID-19 resurgence in the country has reached its peak and has now stabilized. As of Tuesday midnight, the number of new COVID-19 cases is 47,917, a decrease by 9,368 from a week ago.


ksy@donga.com