내일부터 마스크 안쓰면 버스-택시 탑승제한...코로나19 나흘만에 10명대로 줄어
No mask, no service.
Starting tomorrow, all public transportation users in South Korea will have to wear face masks to board buses, subways and taxis.
Although the use of face covering in public transport had been widespread in this country, South Korea is now making it mandatory to prevent further spread of the novel coronavirus.
Leading our COVID-19 coverage tonight, our Choi Jeongyoon.
Starting Tuesday, everyone in the country must wear face masks on buses and taxis.
The government has introduced the stronger measures due to the increasing number of passengers and drivers neglecting to wear masks as the weather warms up.
"Bus or taxi drivers can deny entry for passengers who aren't wearing a mask. For this, previous punishments have been lifted for taxi drivers who refuse passengers."
The mask-wearing policy will also be expanded to all national and international airlines starting Wednesday.
Subways have already made it compulsory for passengers on crowded carriages to wear face masks, but since it has been difficult to check every individual, the government is working with city subways to limit the number of passengers during busy periods.
"Wearing masks can prevent infected patients without symptoms from spreading the virus through droplets, and also protects others from those kinds of infections."
South Korea reported sixteen new COVID-19 cases on Monday,...dropping below twenty cases for the first time in four days.
Among the thirteen community transmissions,... one was a six year old, whose private art academy teacher had tested positive the day before.
Out of 80 people who were in close contact with the teacher, 79 tested negative.
However, concerns are growing over a cluster transmission as the child had been continuously attending the kindergarten. 25 preschoolers in the same class as the six-year-old are under self-quarantine waiting for their test results.
The route of the contagion is yet unknown, and no direct link to the Itaewon cluster infections has yet been found.
So far, 237 cases have been traced back to the cluster of cases in nightclubs in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood. Seven cases are fifth degree transmissions while one case is a sixth degree transmission.
Choi Jeong-yoon, Arirang News.