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SEOUL: South Korea has reported its biggest daily increase in COVID-19 cases in 70 days, as the government began fining people who don’t wear masks in public.
The 191 cases added to the country’s case burden on Friday (Nov. 13) represented the sixth consecutive day of more than 100 and the highest daily increase since Sept. 4, when authorities reported 198 new infections.
More than 120 of the cases occurred in the Seoul metropolitan area, where the coronavirus has spread in a variety of places, including hospitals, nursing homes, churches, schools, restaurants and offices.
READ: South Korea Expands Mask Requirements As COVID-19 Cases Grow
The constant spread of the virus has alarmed government officials, who eased social distancing measures to the lowest level since October to soften the impact of the pandemic on the economy.
While this has allowed high-risk venues like nightclubs and karaoke bears to reopen, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun during a COVID-19 meeting on Friday said that the viral spread could force the government to “seriously consider” reinforce social distancing.
“We are in a precarious situation,” he said, asking for citizen vigilance and that trade unionists and civic groups cancel the planned demonstrations.
So far, South Korea has weathered its outbreak without major lockdowns, relying on an aggressive testing and quarantine program and relatively widespread use of masks among the public.
Comment: Guaranteed overnight delivery in South Korea has a high price
Starting Friday, officials began imposing fines of up to 100,000 won ($ 90) on people who do not wear the masks properly on public transportation and a wide range of places, including hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies, night clubs, karaoke bars, religious centers and sports facilities and in meetings of more than 500 people.
People will also be required to wear masks in restaurants and cafes when they are not eating or drinking.
In the capital Seoul, city employees fanned out to subway stations and bus stops to monitor commuters. There were no immediate reports of major outages.
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