Ambiguous ‘No meetings of more than 5 people’ … Residents are Arisong, business owners sigh

Check-in 2020.12.22 06:00

The Seoul Metropolitan Government, Incheon City and Gyeonggi Province announced on the 21st that they will ban private meetings with more than 5 people from 0 o’clock on the 23rd to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection. Some argue that the policy will be ineffective for reasons such as the vagueness of the issue of collective prohibition and the difficulty of actual repression.

According to measures announced by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Incheon City and Gyeonggi Province on the 21st, private gatherings with more than 5 people are prohibited in these areas from 0 o’clock on the 23rd until 12 o’clock January 3 of next year. Gatherings intended to promote personal friendship, whether indoors or outdoors, such as alumni associations, clubs, outings, end-of-year parties, and workplace dinners, are collectively prohibited.

Weddings and funerals cannot be attended by more than 50 people. This is a reinforced content of the current step 2.5 of social distancing, and while the government hesitated to raise the step of social distancing to the third step, the local metropolitan government took preventive measures.

Some residents of the metropolitan area noted that it is still difficult to properly understand the categories of groups of five or more.

Park Mo (31), an office worker who lives in Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do and travels to Gangnam, Seoul, said: “The standards for private meetings are ambiguous.”

The aunt (37) said: “The case of the house opening is also a private meeting, so it would be prohibited, but there is no way to stop it,” he said. “There are many indoor housing use cases, but I wonder if this can be prevented.”

On the other hand, Kim Young-ji (38), who lives in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, responded positively and said, “Although there are 1,000 confirmed coronaviruses, you can give a message to people who are holding a dinner or party not to to get together”.

The self-employed, who were looking forward to the end of the year and the end of the year holidays, sighed and said that the ban on meetings with more than 5 people in the metropolitan area would intensify the difficulties.

Choi Mo, who runs a restaurant in Sinchon, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, said: “From the Christmas holidays to the beginning of the year, the most profitable part of the year, and since the number of confirmed cases exceeded 1000, each time more customers cancel reservations. ” “I am concerned that the remaining reservations will be canceled due to the ban on meetings for more than one person.”

Jomo, 51, who runs a restaurant in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do, said: “I am more worried that the situation will not improve when January rolls around,” he said. “There are many stores that have already closed in the vicinity. It is the same,” he sighed.

Each local government emphasized that the voluntary participation of citizens is important for this measure to be effective. Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myeong said in a briefing on the 21st: “The 5 members of the ban on private meetings with more than 5 people (in the case of Gyeonggi Province) are subjective judgments. and there is no clear line. ”

Seo Jeong-hyup, Seoul Acting Authority, said: “In order not to reach the final fortress of the three-stage upgrade in which the economy and daily life come to a halt, we must do all we can now.” It is a tough measure for citizens, but the current spread cannot be stopped without stopping the spread among family members, acquaintances and colleagues. ”