"I keep one mask in each bag, and there are extra masks in the office drawers, too. I think my hygiene mindset changed a lot before and after COVID-19."

An office worker, identified only by her surname Lee, took off her mask and exhaled heavily as she walked out to the ground from the station on Subway Line 1. Lee, who always wears a mask in crowded places, said, "When a person next to me who sneezes is not wearing a mask, I naturally frown." He confessed that when he is in an environment where ventilation is difficult, he takes out his mask without having to pay attention.
According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) on the 1st, the crisis stage of COVID-19 will be lowered to the lowest level of interest from that day. As a result, all legal obligations applied to quarantine will be lifted and implemented autonomously. Although COVID-19, a respiratory infectious disease that killed 35,000 people, has come to an end in four years and three months, some citizens who have experienced the effectiveness of masks still seem to have no intention of saying goodbye to them.

As such, the obligation to wear a mask has disappeared in hospitals, but many people say that it is comfortable to wear a mask in normal times. Inevitably, people who have to make a lot of contact with people or work at a workplace with children and the elderly who are vulnerable to infection are representative.

Kim (66), who stayed in front of the subway platform during the crowded commuting hours on the 30th, also said that wearing a mask seems to be essential when working. "Since there is a lot of dust on the way to and from the subway, I think it will be good for respiratory health to wear a mask even after COVID-19 is over," Kim said. "It's good that I can take it off whenever I want, but now I think it's hard to take it off for me."
Lee Young-hee (53, female), who works as a childcare teacher at a daycare center in Songpa-gu, Seoul, said, "Most teachers wear them because almost every child in the class moves when they catch a cold. Because of language education, it is necessary to take them off when talking to children, but I am still careful because I think it is not safe to take them off now."

Kim (38), who runs a meat restaurant in Dasan-dong, Namyangju, said his forehead was sweaty as he served in the heat that came early, but he said, "I don't intend to take off my mask." "I think it's a big deal that I've been more concerned about hygiene since COVID-19," Kim said. "I think I tend to wear thin masks voluntarily because I don't have to pay attention to my facial expressions or external aspects when I work."

Hospital-level medical institutions and facilities vulnerable to infection will see the biggest changes. This is because the mask mandate was not lifted until the end. However, there was no disagreement that people who worked here for a long time would still choose to wear masks on their own. Pre-emptive testing for workers and guardians at facilities vulnerable to infection was already recommended in June and August last year, respectively, but a "complete end-demic" has not occurred.

Kim Yong-kwon (59), a patient who had vascular surgery at Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, said, "Patients with kidney diseases like us have poor immunity, so we try to wear masks even if it is not COVID-19."

youmj@news1.kr