Seoul, Nov. 17, (dpa/GNA) – The South Korean government on Tuesday decided to impose stricter social distancing measures in the capital Seoul as the country recorded more than 200 new coronavirus cases for a fourth day in a row, news agency Yonhap reported.
“Antivirus efforts have faced a crisis,” Yonhap cited Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun as saying during a meeting in Seoul. “Over the past week, the greater Seoul area had more than a hundred patients a day on average.”
Of South Korea’s 230 new cases reported on Tuesday, including 28 imported ones, Seoul recorded 87 while the surrounding Gyeonggi province recorded 38, according to data from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).
Seoul and the surrounding area recorded more than a combined 100 new cases for a fifth straight day.
Seoul’s social distancing level will go up from 1 to 1.5 in the country’s five-tier system, which will see an attendance cap in schools placed at two-thirds of the student body and stricter measures for high-risk facilities such as bars and indoor concert halls, Yonhap said.
Churches and sports events will also be allowed to operate at 30-per-cent capacity while rallies, music concerts and festivals will be capped at 100 attendants, according to the agency.
South Korea has so far recorded 28,998 Covid-19 infections and 494 deaths.
GNA