CHUNGNAM MOVES TO END INDOOR MASK RULE

[Anchor Lead]

The city of Daegeon recently announced they will lift indoor masks mandates from next year if the central government fails to do so by mid-December, in which the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters strongly opposed to. Following Daejeon, Chungcheongnam-do Province also announced that it could end the indoor face mask mandate. Local government's demands have ignited a social debate over the lifting of indoor mask mandates.

[Pkg]

Following the suit of Daejeon, Chungcheongnam-do Province announced that it could end the indoor face mask mandate. The provincial government plans to soon notify the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters of its decision to issue an administrative order lifting the mask rule unless the headquarters reviews it first. As reasons for its push, the provincial government notes that mask mandates are no longer in effect in many foreign countries and mask wearing could cause negative effects on child development. Despite some local governments's calls, the headquarters is reiterating the importance of maintaining a unified anti-virus system. The central agency says the mask mandate will be lifted when the time is right but it is still premature to do so now. Regarding the claim that the central government cannot block local governments' decision to end the mask mandate, the headquarters explained it has the authority to command local government heads. Jung Ki-seok, head of a task force against COVID-19, says the lifting of the mask mandate will be fatal to high-risk groups. But he added the government has not made a final decision to end the mask mandate in next March and an expert meeting in December could draw up a road map to lift the mask rule earlier. Health authorities plan to hold expert meetings on December 15 and the 26th to discuss the timing to lift the indoor mask mandate. The local government's demand has ignited a social debate over the lifting of the indoor mask rule. But there are opinions that the local government should first review their medical capabilities to handle a possible surge in infections.

[Soundbite] Prof. Eom Joong-sik(Gachon Univ. Gill Medical Center) : "It is difficult to respect the local govts' decisions if they don’t have sufficient discussions with medical facilities on capabilities to handle infection increases after the indoor mask mandate is lifted."

As of the midnight on Tuesday, South Korea added 77,000 new infections, the largest number in 83 days. 443 patients are critically ill. The number of critically ill patients has been hovering over 400 for 18 straight days.