The mask mandate on public transportation has been lifted since March 20, 2023. Accordingly, people in Korea may freely choose whether or not to wear masks in public transportation. This is the first time in two years and five months people got to be ”mask-free” almost anywhere.

     After the outdoor mask mandate was lifted, citizens complained of the hassle of re-wearing masks that had been taken off outside just before using public transportation. For this reason, it was expected that not a few people took off their masks on public transportation. Unlike what was expected, however, most of the citizens used public transportation wearing masks as usual. The correlation between relaxation of regulation and whether to wear a mask is yet to be determined, because of fine dust and yellow dust. In the week of the mandate lifting, many citizens wore masks because of the severe yellow dust inflow from China.

    The number of confirmed cases increased slightly for a week after the mask mandate on public transportation was lifted. However, this cannot be seen as the effect of removing masks from public transportation. Usually, after the regulation was eased out, the results are reflected in the trend of confirmed cases after a few weeks. As the weather gets hotter and more people start to take off their masks, the effect of the lifting of the mask mandate on public transportation will surely be confirmed.

 
    The gradual relaxation of regulations is good news as people are complaining about the prolonged pandemic state. For the safe and gradual improvement of public health, even if the mask mandate on public transportation is lifted, the government highly recommended wearing a mask during certain occasions, such as the rush hour. Additionally, the Korean government is expected to gradually lower the crisis level in that the mask mandate in medical institutions is ongoing.
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