The relaxation begins in South Korea.
The country will lift all its physical distancing restrictions, the government announced on Friday, except for wearing a mask indoors.
A relaxation of the measures allowed by the drop in cases of Covid-19 due to the Omicron variant.
“The midnight curfew” for businesses and gatherings limited to 10 people “will be lifted from Monday,” Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum announced.
Read alsoCovid-19: in South Korea and New Zealand, deconfinements with very different results
The move marks the end of two years of tight restrictions due to the pandemic, which have strained small businesses, and hints at a return to normalcy in South Korea.
Mask-wearing, however, will remain mandatory indoors "for a considerable period", authorities said, adding that they could lift the requirement to wear masks outdoors in two weeks, if the number of cases continues to fall. .
Favorable context
This measure “for a long period is “inevitable” in order to prevent another resurgence of cases, added the Prime Minister.
The context for the lifting of restrictions in South Korea seems favorable: the country has overcome the epidemic wave caused by the Omicron variant, and the number of daily cases fell below 100,000 last week, after peaking of more than 620,000 daily cases in mid-March.
Read alsoFight against Covid-19: China, South Korea, Norway… what works elsewhere
More than 86% of the 51 million South Koreans have been fully vaccinated, with the majority also receiving a booster dose.
South Korea is issuing a second booster dose for vulnerable populations.
About 20,000 people have died from the coronavirus in the country since the start of the pandemic, a mortality rate of 0.13%, one of the lowest in the world.