South Korea said it is considering tightening its social distancing rules as it reported 629 new coronavirus cases on Friday, the most since the first wave of infections in the country peaked in late February. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said the situation was critical as infections continued to rise at an alarming rate despite the reimposition of social distancing rules late last month. The government would decide on Sunday whether to upgrade restrictions, he said. “It’s been 10 days since we upgraded the social distancing rules to phase 2 in the Seoul metropolitan area, but the transmission still seems to be uncontainable,” Chung told a government meeting according to Yonhap news agency. Tighter virus curbs hit South Korea’s small businesses hardest Of the new cases, 295 were from capital Seoul, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported. South Korea has now reported a total of 36,332 infections, with 536 deaths. Acting Seoul mayor Seo Jeong-hyup on Friday told the CBS radio station that the city government was planning to draw up additional measures, Yonhap reported. The capital is currently under Level 2 social distancing rules, the middle level in the country’s five-tier system. “If we enter into Level 3 of social distancing, all economic activities will effectively grind to a halt,” he was quoted as saying. “Level 3 is the last card we will use in a desperately dangerous situation,” he continued. “We will discuss additional steps with experts and may announce them as early as this afternoon.” Authorities are concerned that university entrance exams which nearly half a million students sat on Thursday could prove to be another source of infections. Chung urged students to refrain from visiting high-risk areas such as karaoke bars and internet cafes as they celebrate the end of the exam period. Japan to make Covid-19 vaccines free as deadly surge threatens elderly Japan’s Osaka on highest alert The Osaka prefectural government raised its virus alert to the highest level after a rise in serious cases put strain on its medical system. Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura, at a news conference late Thursday, urged residents to stay home until December 15. Schools will remain open but bars and restaurants in certain districts are being asked to close early. Osaka reported 386 new cases on Thursday; number of patients with serious conditions rose to 136, meaning two-thirds of hospital beds have been occupied, according to Kyodo. Philippines allows meetings in malls as cases ebb The Philippines has allowed hotels, malls and restaurants to host meetings and conventions after reported coronavirus infections declined in the past days. Trade events, seminars and board meetings can now be held in areas under general community quarantine including in Metro Manila, as long as only 30 per cent of the venue’s capacity is used, the nation’s virus task force said. Economic managers are pushing to further reopen the economy that’s forecast to shrink as much as 9.5 per cent this year. The Philippines has the second-worst outbreak in Southeast Asia, even as daily cases have declined over the past days. It reported 1,061 new cases on Thursday, the least in a month and pushing total infections to over 435,000. India records 36,595 new infections India’s daily coronavirus cases rose by less than 40,000 for the fifth straight day, health ministry data showed on Friday, with 36,595 new infections reported in the last 24 hours. India’s daily rate has fallen since the south Asian nation reported the world’s highest such tallies through most of August and September, despite a busy festival season last month that experts had warned could trigger a spike in infections. Its tally is now at 9.57 million and remains the world’s second-highest after the US, where there have been nearly 14 million infections. Deaths in India rose by 540, the ministry said, with the total now at 139,188. Additional reporting by DPA, Bloomberg