A woman wearing a face mask walks past a store with discount notices in Myeongdong shopping area in Seoul, South Korea, Sept. 5, 2020. South Korea decided Friday to extend the tightened social-distancing campaign for one more week through Sept. 13 amid the continued triple-digit growth in daily confirmed COVID-19 cases. (Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang)
SEOUL, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- South Korea decided Friday to extend the tightened social-distancing campaign for one more week through Sept. 13 amid the continued triple-digit growth in daily confirmed COVID-19 cases.
Under the tightened social-distancing guidelines, only takeaway or delivery are permitted to restaurants from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. local time while doing normal business during the remaining hours.
Franchise coffee shops and bakeries are banned from doing normal businesses, with only takeout or delivery being allowed.
Indoor sports facilities, such as gym and swimming pool, are prohibited from opening.
Private cram schools with at least 10 students in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province are prohibited from performing offline classes, while visits to nursing homes and convalescent hospitals are banned.
The government introduced the Level 2 social-distancing guidelines in the Seoul metropolitan area on Aug. 16, and expanded it to the entire country a week later.
Amid the unceasing spread of the COVID-19, the government launched the tighter social-distancing campaign while maintaining the Level 2 social-distancing guidelines of the three-tier system.
Under the Level 2 guidelines, the indoor gatherings of over 50 people and the outdoor events of over 100 people are banned, while public and high-risk private facilities are prohibited from doing businesses.
The Level 3 guidelines ban all gatherings, meetings and events of over 10 people as well as all sports events. All public and private facilities are closed down except for essential economic and social purposes.
In the latest tally, the country reported 198 more cases of the COVID-19 for the past 24 hours, raising the combined number of infections to 20,842.
The daily caseload stayed below 200 for two days, but it continued to grow in triple digits since Aug. 14 owing to cluster infections in the Seoul metropolitan area linked to church services and a massive rally held in central Seoul on Aug. 15. Enditem
