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Baseball fans wearing face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus cheer during Game 4 of the Korean Series between Doosan Bears and NC Dinos at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. Photo: AP
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Coronavirus resurgence in South Korea leads Seoul to close pubs and nightclubs

  • The third wave of the outbreak was being driven by clusters of infections in the densely populated capital’s metropolitan area, the health minister said
  • The announcement came as the country reported its fifth straight day of more than 300 new Covid-19 cases. Japan also reported a growing resurgence.
South Korea
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South Korea’s capital city and nearby areas will close bars and nightclubs, limit religious gatherings, and restrict service at restaurants, in a bid to contain a third wave of coronavirus infections, the health minister said on Sunday.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported 330 new daily coronavirus cases as of midnight on Saturday, a drop from 386 reported the day before but the fifth straight day of more than 300 new cases.

“The third wave of Covid-19 outbreaks is increasingly in full swing,” Health Minister Park Neung-hoo told a briefing. “The situation is extremely serious and grave.”

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The nationwide outbreak was being driven by clusters of infections in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, he said, home to around half of the country’s 52 million residents.

As of Tuesday, major coffee shops in the Seoul area will be required to only offer takeaway and delivery service, while restaurants must close to in-person dining after 9pm. Other restrictions will be placed on facilities like gyms, with attendance caps on religious gatherings and sporting events.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun told a government meeting that pre-emptive distancing regulations might be needed to head off a wider outbreak, Yonhap news agency reported.

“We’re at a critical juncture of facing a large number of infections nationwide,” Chung said.

On Saturday, a KDCA official said the country could be facing an outbreak that surpasses two earlier waves of infections, if it fails to block the current spread.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun presides over a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters at the government complex in Seoul on Sunday. Photo: EPA-EFE

The tightened prevention guidelines are aimed partly at allowing students to go ahead with highly competitive annual college entrance exams scheduled for December 3.

South Korea has employed an aggressive tracing, testing, and quarantine effort to stamp down outbreaks without imposing lockdowns. But the country has been dogged by a persistent number of small infections, bringing the total number of cases to 30,733 with 505 deaths.

Japan was also dealing with a coronavirus resurgence, reporting more than 2,000 new cases of the coronavirus for a fifth straight day on Sunday, with a senior official saying the government will try to unveil in the next few days the specifics of how its “Go To Travel” subsidy program will be suspended in areas with high numbers of infections.

“After deciding on a course of action in the upcoming days, we will implement [the new policy] by working with prefectural governors,” Yasutoshi Nishimura, minister in charge of the government’s coronavirus response, said on public broadcaster NHK, a day after the partial suspension of the program aimed at promoting domestic tourism was announced.

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The National Governors’ Association will hold a meeting on Monday to discuss how to respond to the policy change.

The government is considering introducing measures to compensate those who cancel pre-booked trips to areas subject to the suspension, according to officials.

As for the current cap on the number of spectators allowed in sporting and other large events, Nishimura said it could be lowered in areas seeing a rapid rise in infections.

On Saturday, Japan reported more than 2,500 new daily cases of infection, marking a record high for the fourth day in a row.

Osaka Prefecture reported a record 490 new cases of the virus on Sunday, while the daily number in Tokyo declined to 391 from the previous day’s record of 539, but there are signs that the uptrend will most likely continue for some time.

Reuters, AP

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: South Korea tightens curbs to contain third wave as infections stay high
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