SEOUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th November, 2020) South Korea on Tuesday toughened its social distancing regulations in several parts of the country, including the capital city, in the wake of what it described as the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the country's health ministry.
South Korea has been registering over 300 new COVID-19 cases for several days in a row. The authorities consider the new spike in cases to be the third wave of the infection, akin to those seen in February-March and August.
The country uses a five-tier social distancing system, ranging from 1 to 3 with 0.5 increments. The level 2, which includes limitations on public events and facilities, will now be entering force in Seoul and the metropolitan area as well as the city of Suncheon and the southern county of Hadong.
Night clubs and other places with a high risk of transmission will be closed, cafes will only sell food and drinks via delivery services or as take-outs, and restaurants will be prohibited to serve customers after 9 p.m (12:00 GMT).
Marriage and funeral halls will have to cut the number of guests to 100, while stadiums will be allowing only ten percent of their capacity. State facilities will be allowed to accept 30 percent of visitors, same as schools, while religious sites are capped at 20 percent.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, there have been 349 new cases confirmed earlier in the day, bringing the total number to 31,353. Among the new cases, 133 are from Seoul and 81 from the central province of Gyeonggi.
