| A notice explaining the rules of operation and precautionary measures is posted on the entrance of a nightclub near Hongik University in Seoul, Sunday, a day before it is set to reopen. / Yonhap |
Concerns still linger over another mass outbreak after holiday
By Jun Ji-hye
Nighttime entertainment establishments across the country such as nightclubs and room salons, which have been forced to shut down for weeks to stem COVID-19 infections, will resume operations starting Monday, as the government decided to ease restrictions amid mounting complaints from pandemic-hit small business owners.
Those facilities will be allowed to operate until 10 p.m. on the condition that they comply with key antivirus measures, such as dance bans and enforcing social distancing rules for patrons.
Entertainment districts in the Seoul metropolitan area, which includes Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, have been forced to suspend their operations for the past 12 weeks, while those in other parts of the nation have been forced to shut down for the past 10 weeks amid the third wave of COVID-19 infections that began here in mid-November.
The decision to allow their reopening came as the government decided to lower its social distancing rules by one notch from Level 2.5 to Level 2 ― the third-highest in its five-tier system ― for the Seoul metropolitan area, and from Level 2 to Level 1.5 for other parts of the country, starting Monday, according to Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun.
This will free some 480,000 facilities in the Seoul metropolitan area, such as private education institutes, movie theaters, supermarkets and PC rooms, from any restrictions on their operating hours.
Restaurants, coffee shops, gyms and singing rooms in the area will be allowed to stay open for one more hour until 10 p.m.
In other parts of the country, 520,000 facilities such as restaurants, cafes and gyms will be allowed to remain open without any curbs on their operating hours.
The government, however, decided to keep the ban on gatherings of five or more people as the measure is believed to have contributed to slowing the third wave of infections, according to authorities. But the ban will not apply to gatherings of immediate family members regardless of whether they live together or not.
| Passersby walk through a district heavily concentrated with cram schools in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, Sunday. About 480,000 facilities in the Seoul metropolitan area including the academies will be free from any restrictions on their operating hours starting Monday. Yonhap |
Prime Minister Chung said the latest adjustment of social distancing rules reflects the government's consideration of deepening difficulties facing small business owners and worsening mental fatigue of residents amid the prolonged public health crisis.
"The latest measures call from the public more active participation. We ask all to join forces for these rules to become well-established," Chung said during a government meeting on COVID-19 response, Saturday.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), Sunday, the country added 326 more COVID-19 cases, including 304 local infections, for Saturday, raising the cumulative number of cases to 83,525.
The daily new cases decreased from 362 identified on Friday, but the authorities are staying vigilant as the decline may have been due largely to reduced testing during the four-day Lunar New Year holiday that ended Sunday.
Health experts are concerned that the movements of huge numbers of people during the holiday in addition to the recent emergence of new coronavirus variants, which are known to be more transmissible, could lead to another mass outbreak at any time.
"The government's latest adjustment of social distancing rules, which extends operating hours of facilities in the Seoul metropolitan area from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m., could give the wrong signal to the public that the COVID-19 situation has improved," said Jung Jae-hun, a professor of preventive medicine at Gachon University. "The number of virus patients could increase again in two to three weeks."