Transition team chief Ahn Cheol-soo said the current government's decision to lift the outdoor mask-wearing requirement starting next week lacks a clear scientific basis.

Ahn, who previously practiced medicine and also heads the team's special COVID-19 committee, said on Friday that the decision should have been made at the end of next month after monitoring virus-related trends, noting that the latest daily cases remained above 50-thousand.

He also questioned whether the decision was politically motivated to allow the outgoing Moon Jae-in administration to take full credit for normalizing people's lives.

President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol's transition team gave an official response, expressing dismay at the government's premature decision.

The team also voiced concern that it will be much more difficult to persuade the public to wear them again should there be any set back to the containment of the virus.

Earlier this week, the transition team said it planned to review the outdoor masking requirement within the first 30 days of the incoming Yoon administration taking office on May 10.