S.Korea to further extend tighter social-distancing campaign

SEOUL, SEPTEMBER 4 (IANS): South Korea on Friday announced its decision to extend the tightened social-distancing campaign for one more week through September 13 amid the continued triple-digit growth in daily Covid-19 cases.

Under the tightened social-distancing guidelines, only takeaway or delivery are permitted to restaurants from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., while doing normal business during the remaining hours, reports Xinhua news agency.

Franchise coffee shops and bakeries are banned from doing normal businesses, with only takeout or delivery being allowed.

Indoor sports facilities, such as gyms and swimming pools, are prohibited from reopening.

Private cram schools with at least 10 students in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province are prohibited from performing offline classes, while visits to nursing homes and convalescent hospitals are banned.

The government introduced the Level 2 social-distancing guidelines in the Seoul metropolitan area on August 16, and expanded it to the entire country a week later.

Amid the increasing spread of the Covid-19, the government launched the tighter social-distancing campaign while maintaining the Level 2 social-distancing guidelines of the three-tier system.

Under the Level 2 guidelines, the indoor gatherings of over 50 people and the outdoor events of over 100 people are banned, while public and high-risk private facilities are prohibited from doing businesses.

The Level 3 guidelines ban all gatherings, meetings and events of over 10 people as well as all sports events.

All public and private facilities are closed down except for essential economic and social purposes.

In the latest tally, the country reported 198 new cases in the past 24 hours, raising the total number of infections to 20,842.

The daily caseload stayed below 200 for two days, but it has continued to grow in triple digits since August 14 owing to cluster infections in the Seoul metropolitan area.