S Korean gov't moving to raise distancing rules in Seoul, Gangwon areas this week
SEOUL. KAZINFORM - The government is moving toward raising the social distancing rules in the greater Seoul area and Gangwon Province by one notch amid spikes in new COVID-19 cases, informed sources said Monday, Yonhap reports.
The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters is reportedly reviewing and fine-tuning details of raising the two areas' social distancing schemes to 1.5 from the current Level 1 stage effective Wednesday midnight, according to officials familiar with the discussions.
The government is expected to make an announcement on Tuesday after finalizing the plan during an inter-agency meeting attended by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun.
Chung usually presides over the session on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, but he is to do so on Tuesday this week for the social-distancing measure, according to a government source.
If the alert is lifted to Level 1.5, the operation of multiuse facilities will be restricted. Earlier this month, the government introduced a five-tier social-distancing system.
The country logged 223 new cases on Monday, the third consecutive day with more than 200 new infections. The last time the country saw its new infections pass 200 was on Sept. 2, when it reported 267 new cases, as Seoul and its adjacent cities experienced a spike in COVID-19 infections.
Over the last week, the greater Seoul area reported a daily average of 99.4 new cases. If the number surpasses 100, the distancing scheme's level will be raised to 1.5 from the current Level 1 stage.
Gangwon Province reported a daily average of 13.9 new cases over the past week, already higher than the threshold of 10 required to implement Level 1.5.