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The government, which decided to lift the mandatory indoor mask early next year, discussed the direction of adjustment today (9th).

It is expected that the mandatory wearing will be changed to recommended or voluntary wearing, but the duty will be maintained for essential facilities such as medical institutions.



This is reporter Nam Joo-hyun.



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The health authorities presented a big direction ahead of an expert public debate to discuss the indoor mask mitigation policy.



The duty to wear it will be changed to recommended or voluntary wearing, but it will be maintained for essential facilities that are frequently used by high-risk groups.



[Kwon Byeong-gi/Bang Dae-bon Quarantine Support Head: When looking at the cases of major overseas countries, medical facilities, social welfare facilities, and some public transportation, mainly in this case...

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Next week, we will discuss with a group of experts to set specific indicators such as the number of confirmed cases and the trend of severely ill patients, and it will be applied immediately when the indicators are met between January and March next year.



[Han Deok-soo/Prime Minister: We plan to consider the trend of confirmed cases, serious illness, and deaths, and specific criteria for judgment will be discussed through open discussions and advisory committees…

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The vaccination rate of improved vaccines for high-risk groups, which is a prerequisite for indoor mask mitigation, is still low at 24% for those aged 60 or older and 37% for facilities vulnerable to infection.



Health authorities plan to increase the vaccination rate by extending the winter intensive vaccination period until the end of the year.



The number of new corona19 confirmed cases announced today was 62,734, an increase of 9,000 from a week ago.



There are 442 severely ill patients and 67 deaths, the highest since the 17th of last month.