Seoul, South Korea — South Korea is set to extend the strict social distancing rules in Seoul to the whole country, as it battles a fresh coronavirus spike.
Health Minister Park Neung-hoo announced that the outbreak linked to Sarang-Jeil Church of Seoul is spreading rapidly throughout the state. The country had recorded 332 new confirmed Covid-19 cases on Friday, having over 75% of the locally transmitted 315 cases being found in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area.
Starting from August 16 onwards, Seoul has been placed under heightened social distancing measures. This means that the clubs, karaoke bars and internet cafes will be closed, and sports events will only be held without spectators in the state.
Apart from these, indoor gatherings have also been limited to 50 people and a maximum of 100 people were allowed to gather outdoors.
Health Minister Park said that these measures would be rolled out to the entire country. However, he mentioned that the provinces with few cases could follow them as a recommendation rather than a mandate.
South Korea has reported a total of 17,002 Covid-19 cases. The current death toll of the country is 309, according to Johns Hopkins University.
