The mayor of Daejeon has insisted that indoor mask-wearing should be up to each person following the city’s announcement that the mandate will be lifted as early as January.

In a Monday staff meeting, Daejeon mayor Lee Jang-woo said that the level of public awareness regarding the COVID-19 pandemic justifies entrusting individual citizens with decisions on quarantine measures, including indoor mask-wearing.

He said central and local governments should closely cooperate to produce positive results benefiting the public.

Lee said that while government-level talks on lifting the indoor mask mandate appear to have begun, quarantine guidelines concerning the elderly, senior care facilities and social welfare centers should be further fine-tuned.

Daejeon recently notified the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters of its plan to issue an administrative order ending the indoor mandate if the central government fails to do so by December 15.

Although health authorities responded negatively to the city's position in favor of a uniform nationwide policy, discussions on such a policy change may be moved up as the winter wave falters.