The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters from April 25 allowed the consumption of food inside indoor facilities such as movie theaters and supermarkets. Shown are people on the day before ordering popcorn and soft drinks at the concession stand of a movie theater in Seoul. (Yonhap News)

By Xu Aiying and Yoon Sojung

People nationwide from April 25 were allowed to eat popcorn at movie theaters or sample food at supermarkets.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on April 22 said consumption of food at multipurpose facilities, which was prohibited to prevent the spread of COVID-19, could resume from April 25 at midnight.

The latest lifting of social distancing measures applies to noraebang (karaoke rooms), indoor sports facilities, public saunas, movie theaters and concert halls, general, art and science museums, libraries, stores, hypermarkets and department stores, exhibition halls, private education institutes, study rooms and cafes, and religious facilities.

The rule easing also covers key modes of public transportation such as rail, domestic flights, and inter-city, express and chartered buses. Yet eating food will remain prohibited on intra-city or community shuttle buses due to passenger density in such vehicles. The ban must stay due to the need for safety management as food consumption on such buses was prohibited before the pandemic's outbreak. 

Large supermarkets and department stores must set up a separate zone to allow customers to sample food for safety management. For drinks, each table must be 3 m apart and people there for sampling must keep a distance of 1 m from one another.

The government on the same day also lowered the infectious disease status of COVID-19 to Level 2. This came two years and three months after the coronavirus was classified Level 1 on Jan. 8, 2020, as a new infectious disease.

Graduation from Level 1 lifts the isolation requirement.

The implementation period of four weeks was designated for the medical sector to fully adjust to the new distancing status. Over this stretch, those testing positive for COVID-19 must self-isolate for seven days just like when the alert status was at Level 1. The COVID-19 testing and diagnostic system will also remain in force.

xuaiy@korea.kr