Health authorities have underlined the need to wean off social distancing regulations, although they also assessed it is too early to treat COVID-19 as an endemic. 

At a regular press briefing on Wednesday, authorities at the Central Disaster Management Headquarters said while it would be premature to declare an endemic amid the emergence of variants, it is necessary to shift toward a general response system that appropriately reflects the reduced risks of the current virus.

They reiterated the need to ease the rules, citing their diminishing effectiveness due to the rapid transmission of the omicron variant and the snowballing socioeconomic impact.

Under the current distancing rules effective through April 17, up to ten people can gather and businesses are allowed to operate until midnight.