Starting Tomorrow, Social Distancing in the Seoul Metropolitan Area Raised to Level 2.5... Incheon City to Inspect Religious Facilities and Others

General restaurants and bakeries open until 9 PM
Franchise coffee shops allowed takeout and delivery only
Academies, study rooms, and indoor sports facilities suspended
Incheon City mandates electronic entry logs for charter bus passengers

Park Neung-hoo, the 1st Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of Health and Welfare), is speaking while presiding over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting for COVID-19 response at the Government Seoul Office on the morning of the 29th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Following the government's elevation of social distancing measures to level 2.5 in the Seoul metropolitan area, strengthened quarantine measures will be implemented in the Incheon area from 0:00 on the 30th until 24:00 on September 6.

According to Incheon City on the 29th, during this period, 39,562 establishments including general restaurants, snack bars, and bakeries will be allowed to operate normally only until 9 p.m., and from then until 5 a.m. the next day, only food takeout and delivery will be permitted.

For cafes (franchise coffee and beverage specialty stores) totaling 478 locations, only takeout and delivery will be allowed regardless of operating hours. In general restaurants and cafes, quarantine rules such as managing visitor logs, wearing masks, and maintaining a distance of 2 meters (at least 1 meter) between users must also be followed.

Additionally, 1,456 private academies that teach groups of nine or fewer students must comply with all core quarantine rules, including managing visitor logs, checking visitors’ symptoms (such as fever checks), restricting entry of symptomatic individuals, wearing masks, and maintaining a distance of 2 meters (at least 1 meter) between users, if operation is unavoidable under gathering restrictions.

Privately operated indoor sports facilities will be closed from 0:00 on the 30th, and academies (with 10 or more but fewer than 300 students), study cafes, and reading rooms will be closed from 0:00 on the 31st until September 6. However, academies may conduct non-face-to-face (online, etc.) classes.

For all religious facilities, only non-face-to-face worship services, masses, and Buddhist ceremonies will be allowed from the 30th until further notice, and all face-to-face gatherings, events, and group meals organized by religious facilities are strictly prohibited.

Furthermore, facilities frequently used by the elderly, such as nursing hospitals, nursing facilities, day and night care centers, and cooling shelters, are recommended to close, and if operation is unavoidable, activities and programs that generate a lot of droplets, such as singing, are prohibited. Inspections and management of illegal small gatherings operated by door-to-door sales businesses will also be strengthened.

Meanwhile, Incheon City has mandated the introduction of electronic visitor logs for charter bus passengers starting from the 26th. Accordingly, charter bus operators must compulsorily create and manage passenger lists when operating charter buses for short-term rentals such as one-time events, tourism, or assemblies where identifying users is difficult.

In addition, the city continues to recommend closure of social welfare facilities and daycare centers, and plans to maintain existing measures such as suspension of operations at indoor national and public facilities, multi-use facilities within Incheon Grand Park and Wolmi Park, and closure of beaches until further notice.

The city will inspect compliance with non-face-to-face worship services, masses, and Buddhist ceremonies at religious facilities on the 30th, and will continue to conduct guidance and inspections of multi-use facilities, taking action according to relevant laws against violations.

Mayor Park Namchun urged citizens, saying, "The coming week is a critical period for the spread and containment of COVID-19, so please stay home over the weekend and cancel appointments and gatherings for the week to avoid face-to-face contact as much as possible."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.