Starting on Tuesday, passengers not wearing protective masks will not be allowed to use buses and taxis in South Korea.

The central disaster and safety countermeasures headquarters said on Monday that the restriction is part of the government's enhanced COVID-19 “everyday life quarantine” guidelines.

The government will temporarily exempt operators and drivers of buses and taxis from business suspension or fines for refusing passengers without masks.

Drivers will also be required to wear masks, otherwise heads of local governments will take appropriate countermeasures. As of Sunday, the number of coronavirus cases among bus drivers and taxi drivers marked nine and 12, respectively.  

Subway passengers will be encouraged to wear masks but they will not face as strict regulations as in buses and taxis in many parts of the country. 

Since earlier this month, subway passengers in Seoul have been required to wear masks during busy hours when the train capacity to passenger ratio reaches 150 percent. 

The Busan Metropolitan Government plans to ban those without masks from boarding subway trains from Wednesday. 

Starting Wednesday, all passengers boarding domestic and international flights will be required to wear masks as well.