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SEOUL (REUTERS) – South Korea will impose stricter social distancing rules for the capital Seoul and surrounding areas, health officials said on Sunday (Dec. 6), as authorities scramble to contain the largest wave of coronavirus infection in nine months.
The decision comes after the government implemented unprecedented measures on Saturday in a country that had had initial success through aggressive contact tracing and other steps.
“We are in a very dangerous situation,” said Health Ministry official Park Neung-hoo at a briefing, saying the localized groups have the potential to become a national outbreak.
Many of the recent cases have focused on Seoul, which on Saturday launched unprecedented curfews, closing most establishments at 9 p.m. for two weeks and cutting public transportation by 30 percent at night.
Under the measures announced Sunday, which go into effect Tuesday, gatherings of 50 or more people are banned, gyms and karaoke bars must close, religious services must take place online or broadcast, and attendance limits will be imposed. stricter to school classes. Park said.
While restaurants will still be able to provide service in person, the government is urging people to avoid eating out if possible and to no longer hold non-essential social gatherings, he said.
The curbs will last at least three weeks, through the end of the month, Park said. Other areas of the country will also see greater restrictions, but at a lower level than the Seoul area.
The Korea Disease Prevention and Control Agency (KDCA) reported 631 new cases as of midnight Saturday, the highest daily count since a peak in February and early March, bringing the country’s total to 37,546, with 545 deaths. .
Nearly a month of triple-digit daily infections has brought the number of active cases in South Korea to a record 7,873, the KDCA said, raising concerns about the decline in the number of hospital beds.
“Right now it is exceeding the level that we can control in our hospital system,” Park said.
New beds are being added and for now there are enough to treat patients, but if the trend continues, the country could face a bed shortage, he said.
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