Photographer: Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images
Photographer: Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images
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The South Korean government is studying the need to raise social distancing restrictions to the highest level, as officials have warned the country of the risk of a “massive nationwide outbreak.”
An additional 397 new virus cases were reported on Sunday, the highest number since March 7. A quarter of those cases were reported outside the metropolitan area of Seoul. Infections are more than 300 in three days.
“Times are growing in 17 cities and provinces across the nation, and we are now on the brink of a massive nationwide outbreak,” Jung Eun-kyeong, head of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a briefing on Sunday.
In June, South Korea adopted a social-distancing system with three levels of restrictions. The government on Sunday extended level 2 social-distancing rules already in place in the Seoul Metropolitan area and Busan to the rest of the country.
Level 2 restrictions prohibit meetings of 50 or more people inside, and 100 or more outside, with limits placed on events such as weddings, church services, and sports games. It also prevents the operation of 12 types of “high-risk” facilities such as bars and standing concert halls.
Level 3, the highest, prohibits meetings and events of 10 people or more and gives authorities the power to limit business hours at shopping malls and stores. Rising infections and the possibility of level 3 rules have too reinforced speculation that there could be a second round of cash handouts and another extra budget.
“The government is currently investigating the need, as well as the timing and method for applying level 3 restrictions,” Jung said.
Residents in Seoul must wear a mask both indoors and outdoors when they start in public on Monday, Yonhap reported, citing the acting mayor of the city block.
The nation of 50 million people has registered a total of 17,339 infections and 309 deaths. It reported more than 5,000 infections related to a religious sect called Shincheongji between February and March, which made the nation the second worst hit by the virus at the time. Earlier this month, hundreds of cases were linked to Sarang Jeil Church, also described by some as a sect.
(Updates with comments from official in third member)
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