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SEOUL: Private educational establishments closed for the first time and traffic was lighter in the South Korean capital on Monday (Aug 31), the first business day of stricter social distancing rules designed to halt a second wave of coronavirus outbreaks.
South Korea took an unprecedented step on Friday to restrict the operation of restaurants, cafes and so-called intensive schools in the Seoul metropolitan area, with churches, nightclubs and most public schools already closed.
The decision was made after previous movement restrictions failed to prevent a second wave of coronavirus infections from erupting in churches, offices, nursing homes and medical facilities.
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The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 238 new cases as of midnight Sunday, mostly in Seoul and surrounding regions, the 18th consecutive day of triple-digit increases in daily infections.
There were fewer cars and fewer people on the streets of Seoul during morning rush hours, as more companies encouraged employees to work from home.
“I started working from home today as the company allowed it for the first time because the number of cases kept increasing,” said Oh Yun-mi, 36, who works in a manufacturing company.
A 40-year-old office worker who only gave his last name Cho said his usual travel time was cut by about a third.
The private after-school tuition academies, which operated as usual in March during the first wave of coronavirus infections in South Korea, were closed.
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There are 25,000 intensive schools in Seoul and, nationally, three out of four children, from first grade to twelfth grade, attended those classes.
The government has cut staffing in public offices, while many companies, including tech giants Samsung Electronics, LG and SK Hynix, have expanded or reinstated work-from-home policies.
On-site meals at restaurants, pubs, and bakeries in the Seoul area are prohibited after 9 p.m. until Sunday, while chain coffee shops are restricted to take-out and home delivery.
South Korea has reported 19,947 total infections and 324 deaths from COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus.
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