SEOUL, May 11 — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday declared an end to almost all COVID-19 restrictions, including mandatory isolation, effectively placing the disease in the endemic category.
Yoon said during a COVID-19 response meeting that the seven-day mandatory isolation period for COVID-19 patients will be reduced to a recommendation of five days, reported Yonhap news agency.
He also said the indoor mask mandate will be lifted everywhere except for hospitals with rooms for hospitalisation, and the PCR test-upon-arrival recommendation will be removed.
The new measures will take effect June 1 when the national crisis level for COVID-19 will be lowered from “serious” to “alert.”
The announcement came days after the World Health Organisation declared an end to COVID-19 as a “global health emergency.”
