SEOUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th September, 2020) The South Korean authorities will ease the COVID-19 social distancing restrictions that have impacted Seoul's coffee shops and restaurants, amid a fall in the number of new cases, public health officials said on Sunday.
Tougher measures were introduced in the South Korean capital amid a surge in new cases in August. The measures, which have been termed Level 2.5, were scheduled to expire on Monday. Government officials announced that they would not be extended.
"Although social distancing measures will be weakened, we have decided to introduce stricter and more targeted quarantine measures where there is a high risk of infection," Park Neung-hoo, the minister of health and welfare, said at a press briefing.
The expiring measures had allowed restaurants to open only until 21:00 local time [12:00 GMT]. Coffee shop chains, bakeries, and many other eateries were only permitted to serve delivery and takeout customers.
From Monday, these establishments will be allowed to open in full, although limits will remain on the number of clients permitted to be inside the premises. Additionally, these facilities must keep customer logs.
Internet cafes will also be allowed to reopen nationwide from Monday, although minors will be banned, and the consumption of food inside the cafes will not be permitted.
On Sunday, South Korea's Ministry of Health registered 121 new positive tests for COVID-19, a drop from the 136 and 176 new cases reported on Saturday and Friday, respectively.
A surge in cases in August saw as many as 441 new positive tests registered over a 24-hour period, with this figure recorded on August 27.
Since the start of the pandemic, South Korea's public health authorities have confirmed 22,176 cases of the coronavirus disease. The country's death toll stands at 358.
