Mandatory facemask for moving around in South Korea

Key points:

• "No Mask, No Ride" policy amended by South Korea on May 25, 2020
• Facemask is mandatory for all the passengers to travel in buses, taxis, subways, and flights to control the coronavirus spread

Image: Pixabay.com/images/id-5071777/

South Korea is the country that controlled the COVID-19 spread effectively without lockdown. However, the recent hike in the infected numbers due to nightclub activities and taxi travel forced the government to take additional preventive measures.

Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures recommended wearing a facemask in all public meeting places, especially during the travel in public transports.

"We plan to implement the mask-wearing requirement for the transportation sector with all municipal governments together, starting from tomorrow," Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, South Korea

The citizens of the country widely accepted No Mask, No Ride' policy on day 1 (Tuesday, May 26, 2020). The understanding and urge of people abiding by the rules of the country is hugely appreciable in the present situation.

No Mask No Ride policy

Without mask people are

• Not allowed to travel in buses
• Not allowed to travel in taxis
• Not allowed to travel in subways (trains)
• Not allowed to take tickets

From Wednesday (May 27, 2020), it is mandatory to wear facemask in all domestic and international flights.

Layman's voice

Even though we are prepared to follow the rules, some unexpected circumstances might push us to face the critical situation in public transport.

• We may forget to wear a facemask
• Accidently we may misplace
• We may be traveling in an urgent or emergency.  
• We may have lowered the mask for easy breathing.

Some of the passengers are avoiding travel so that they do not have to wear a mask.

Support by the Government to implement the policy

- Every local governance enforces the bus and taxi drivers to wear facemask during duty time

- Running announcements to remind the passengers to wear a facemask

- Availability of facemask in crowded places; for example, we can buy facemask in all the sales outlets, convenience stores, and vending machines

- All public transports insist to wear a facemask. Otherwise, travel is restricted

What we need to do?

Wearing facemask is one of the significant preventive measures to control the coronavirus spread.

Without a mask, no one can travel on public transport. They are forbidden to travel on public transport. So, we need to wear a facemask to avoid such embarrassing situations in public places.

Also, keep some additional facemask to balance unexpected situations.

If you do not have a facemask, do not panic or worry. Just look around for shops to buy it and enjoy your travel.

Ultimately, wearing a facemask would help us to prevent the infection and avoid the situation of unknown spreading.

Wishes to stay healthy and safe.

For more details

• Face masks mandatory on public transport
• 'No mask, no ride' policy goes smoothly amid heightened virus woes