Social Distancing Finally Lifted
[The Public = Daniel Park] As social distancing measures due to the coronavirus infection (COVID-19) were lifted in South Korea after two years and one month, people went out to enjoy the nightlife.
On the evening of the 18th, the first day of the lifting of social distancing, long lines formed in front of the Gangnam Club in Seoul, and large crowds gathered until late in the streets of Hongdae and Euljiro, where bars and restaurants were lined up. At dawn, there was a 'taxi riot' with people trying to go home.
Self-employed people who run restaurants and pubs are looking for jobs to welcome customers. This is due to a significant reduction in manpower due to shortening of business hours. Dozens of part-time job announcements were posted on part-time job platform Part-timer Heaven, offering hourly wages higher than the hourly minimum wage of 9,160 won.
As the restrictions on business hours and number of people have completely disappeared with this measure, it is expected that sales will recover mainly in entertainment facilities such as pubs, karaoke rooms and clubs, as well as industries with a lot of night users such as PC rooms and jjimjilbangs.
Young office workers, who preferred to work from home, are reluctant as many companies resume their office work starting with the lifting of social distancing. In particular, there are many voices concerned about the resurgence of drinking parties that drink until late at night.
A 30-year-old office worker, Byun (30), said, "It was good that there were no dinner parties for the past two years, but a dinner party to commemorate the lifting of the distance measures has already been held.
Early this month, employment portal Incruit conducted a survey on 1,013 male and female office workers on the post-COVID drinking culture, and the results showed that ‘the dining culture has changed and improved since the corona virus’ was selected. More than 9 out of 10 respondents said they were satisfied with the changed drinking culture.
LG affiliates eased the telecommuting rate from 50% to 30% or less from the 18th. The limit on the number of in-house meetings, such as meetings and events, will also be removed. In the case of the POSCO Group, POSCO and POSCO Chemical switched to a working system in principle at the beginning of this month, followed by POSCO International starting on the 18th.
Concerns about Corona Infection Still Exist
Concerns remain that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases may increase after the lifting of social distancing. High-risk groups, such as the elderly, are more likely to be at risk, especially in areas with high population density.
As of 00:00 on the 18th, there were 47,743 new cases, the lowest in 69 days. The number of confirmed cases on that day increased to 118,504 again, but it is only half of what it was a week ago.
In a written briefing on the same day, the city of Seoul said, "As social distancing is completely lifted, it is important for each individual to voluntarily comply with quarantine rules, and more attention should be paid to blocking the infection of high-risk groups." Please take an active part in it.”
The government started pre-booking for the fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine over the age of 60 from the 18th, when the social distancing measures were lifted. If 4 months have passed since the 3rd dose, the target is vaccinated.
In addition, after monitoring the quarantine situation for a while, we plan to discuss again next month whether to lift masks and self-isolation.
[Image by Yonhap News Agency]
The Public / Daniel Park webmaster@thepublic.kr
더퍼블릭 / Daniel Park webmaster@thepublic.kr