Coronavirus latest: South Korea tightens restrictions in Seoul; Japan records 1,200 new cases

South Korea shuts entertainment venues, limits gatherings of up to 50 as it reports 166 new cases

New Zealand sees seven new cases as lockdown continues in Auckland, and Japan records 1,200 new infections as people enjoy summer holidays

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South Korean medical residents and doctors take part in a 24-hour strike to protest a government plan to increase medical school admissions. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:55am, 15 Aug 2020Updated: 2:16am, 16 Aug 2020

South Korea has announced a series of new lockdown measures in Seoul, including a ban on indoor gatherings of at least 50 people and closures of entertainment venues, after reporting 166 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, its highest daily total since March 11.

Of the new cases, 155 were locally transmitted – a significant increase from 85 on Friday.

“The spread of Covid-19 in the Seoul metropolitan area is very serious,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said. “We are now at a critical juncture where we may enter a second wave of infections, as is the case in the rest of the world, if we fail to overcome this crisis.”

The stricter Level 2 social-distancing measures will come into effect for two weeks on Sunday. Locations deemed “high-risk”, such as bars, health clubs, buffet restaurants and private tutoring institutes known as hakwons will be closed.

Earlier this month, South Korea appeared to have contained the coronavirus pandemic, reporting between 20 and 40 new cases daily.

However those numbers have increased steadily over the past week, with many infections linked to churches, as well as workplaces, schools and markets.

A health worker takes samples from a woman at a makeshift Covid-19 clinic in Seoul on August 10, 2020. Photo: AP

President Moon Jae-in on Friday warned the lack of cooperation from some churches could cause the efforts to safeguard public health to “collapse at one fell swoop”.