SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea introduced on Friday that individuals visiting eating places and cinemas and different public areas must present vaccine passes, amid a surge in COVID-19 infections and 5 confirmed circumstances of the Omicron variant.
The authorities additionally re-imposed limits on personal gatherings, which had been not too long ago relaxed, as the nation posted document numbers of recent circumstances this week.
Desperate to fend off the Omicron variant, authorities halted quarantine exemptions on Thursday for totally vaccinated inbound travellers and made a 10-day quarantine mandatory.
From subsequent Monday, folks visiting 14 designated public areas, together with hospitality and leisure venues, must present their vaccines passes, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum advised a coronavirus response assembly, setting out the plan to scale back the danger of neighborhood unfold. The public may have a grace interval of every week to get used to the brand new guidelines.
While folks have been required to point out their vaccine pass at high-risk venues such as gyms, saunas and bars, it’s the first time that the requirement has been prolonged to eating places and cafes.
From February, anybody aged 12 years or older must present a vaccination pass. The authorities determined to decrease the exemption age, at the moment set at 17 years, to encourage youngsters to get vaccinated as the under-18 age group accounts for 20% of all infections, Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol advised a briefing.
The restrict on personal gatherings was lower to 6 folks within the better Seoul space, and eight outdoors, from the present restrict of 10 in Seoul and 12 outdoors, Kwon mentioned.
South Korea has to this point confirmed a complete of 5 Omicron circumstances after a totally vaccinated couple examined constructive for the variant after arriving final week from Nigeria. The sufferers are both asymptomatic or have gentle signs such as headache, low-grade fever, dizziness and sore throat, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) mentioned.
KDCA reported 4,944 COVID-19 circumstances for Thursday, a slight decline from document excessive 5,266 circumstances on Wednesday. It has reported a complete of 462,555, with 3,739 deaths total.
South Korea has totally vaccinated 91.6% of its grownup inhabitants aged 18 and over, but the booster dose uptake stays at 8.1%.
(Reporting by Sangmi Cha; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
