SEOUL – South Korea will raise Covid-19 curbs to their highest level in the metropolitan area here, said the prime minister today, warning that a record spike in new cases has reached “maximum crisis level”.
The country, previously held up as a model of how to combat the pandemic, with the public largely following social-distancing and other rules, was slow to start its vaccine roll-out due to supply shortages.
Today, it recorded 1,316 infections, the highest daily rise since the outbreak began, with most new cases in the capital and its surrounding areas, home to almost half of the South Korean population.
Cluster infections have surfaced in areas including schools, offices and shopping malls, with people in their 20s and 30s – most of whom are not yet eligible for vaccination – driving up the numbers, according to health authorities.
Under the new restrictions, set to come into force on Monday and last for two weeks, gatherings of more than two people will be banned after 6pm, and schools will be closed.
Cafés and restaurants are allowed limited seating, and dine-in services are prohibited after 10pm.
Entertainment establishments, including bars and clubs, will be shut, and all public rallies are banned except for one-person protests. – AFP, July 9, 2021
