Starting Monday, nursing home residents will be banned from going out on day trips or outings unless they receive updated omicron-specific bivalent boosters.

Health authorities said that from Monday, patients at nursing homes and long-term care hospitals will have to receive the updated booster shots before going out on outings or day trips.

The rule applies to nursing home residents who are over 120 days after the previous vaccination or who are confirmed to have tested positive for COVID-19.

Starting Monday, same-day inoculation of the omicron-adapted boosters is available without reservations.

The move comes as the ratio of people receiving booster shots remains low amid a winter resurgence of the virus. As of Wednesday, the ratio stood at eleven percent at high-risk facilities and 13-point-two percent among people aged 60 and older.