OUTDOOR MASK MANDATE TO BE LIFTED

[Anchor Lead]

The government has decided to lift the outdoor mask wearing mandate from next week. But the requirement will remain in certain conditions such as crowded places.

[Pkg]

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum announced the lifting of outdoor mask wearing in his opening remarks during a Friday virus response meeting. The mandate will be lifted from Monday, May 2nd. Kim said the decision was made in light of the decline in infections continuing on a downward trend for the 6th consecutive week and the public's strong wishes to return to normalcy. However the mandate will remain in place for rallies, concerts, sports games and other outdoor gatherings of 50 people or more. The prime minister explained that the government considered the risk of infection at such events to be higher as people gather in crowds and tend to shout. The prime minister added there was concern voiced by some over the lifting of the mandate. But he explained the government could no longer neglect the public’s inconvenience of being unable to take off masks during family outings or when they are strolling alone. He also mentioned overseas precedents such as in France and New Zealand, where infection figures have fallen even with the outdoor mask mandate lifted around the time or about a month before and after the peak of the omicron wave. Kim stressed the decision was made after intense internal discussions based on expert analysis and a review of global trends.

[Soundbite] Kim Boo-kyum(Prime Minister) : "Most of all, the decision is rooted in trust in the Korean people’s mature quarantine awareness as they have cooperated with gov’t measures for the past 2 years."

He however advised people displaying symptoms or considered high risk to keep masks on even outdoors. Also generally, mask wearing is recommended in mass gatherings where it’s difficult to stay one meter apart from each other.