S.Korea to adopt toughest social-distancing rules in Seoul

Seoul, July 9 The South Korean Health Ministry said on Friday that it will adopt the toughest social-distancing rules in the Seoul metropolitan area for two weeks as a record number of Covid-19 cases were reported in recent days.

The Level 4 social-distancing guideline, the highest in the newly-introduced four-tier social-distancing rules, will be imposed in Seoul, its surrounding Gyeonggi province and the western port city of Incheon for two weeks from July 12 to 25, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry as saying.

The move came as the daily number of confirmed Covid-19 cases broke the record for two straight days, prompting authorities to officially announce that the country was entering the fourth wave of the pandemic.

On Friday, the country reported 1,316 new cases, lifting the infection tally to 165,344.

It was the highest daily spike since the country's first case was recorded on January 20 last year.

The daily caseload has stayed above 1,200 for three straight days.

The recent surge in coronavirus infections was attributed to cluster infections in the greater Seoul area.

Under the Level 4 social-distancing guidelines, any private gathering of three or more people is banned after 6 p.m. in the greater Seoul area.

Before 6 p.m., the gathering of as many as four people is allowed.

Risky entertainment facilities, including night clubs, are prohibited from running business for the two weeks.

All the other multi-use facilities, such as restaurants and cafes, are allowed to open until 10 p.m.

Sports events can be held without spectators.

Up to two-thirds of rooms can be filled in lodging facilities. Religious facilities are allowed to perform online worship services and are banned from having any offline gatherings or events.

Students can attend only online classes. Companies are recommended to let employees work from home.

The tightened social-distancing measures are expected to mount the financial pressure on micro-business owners and small merchants who have already struggled with business losses and the stagnated domestic demand amid the protracted pandemic.

Concerns have remained about the imported cases, due to the recent spreading of the highly infectious Delta variant.

On Friday, official data showed 80 new imported cases were recorded in South Korea, raising the combined figure for this group to 10,499.

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