Starting Sunday, South Koreans can freely buy masks at pharmacies, supermarkets and convenience stores without any limit.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Saturday it is ending the public mask distribution scheme and switching to a market supply system.

But the government will maintain the public supply of surgical masks for medical institutions.

Publicly distributed masks were first introduced in late February in the early days of the outbreak to address the acute shortage of masks. Consumers could buy only two masks per week on designated days. This increased to three per week in late April.

As mask production increased, the designated day rule was scrapped and people have been able to buy ten masks each week since last month.

The government will reintroduce mask-control measures if supply issues reoccur.