From Tomorrow, Social Distancing Level 1... Some Level 2 Measures Maintained in the Seoul Metropolitan Area (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The government will lower the nationwide 'social distancing' level from Level 2 to Level 1 starting from the 12th. However, since the metropolitan area is not yet a situation to be relieved, some Level 2 measures will be maintained.

Park Neung-hoo, the first head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCHQ), stated at the Government Seoul Office on the 11th, "We will adjust the nationwide Level 2 distancing to Level 1 while strengthening precise quarantine management for high-risk multi-use facilities."

The CDSCHQ will continue to ban operations of direct sales promotion centers such as door-to-door sales, which are evaluated as the highest risk of COVID-19 infection among high-risk facilities nationwide.

For five types of entertainment establishments including clubs, karaoke bars, danran bars, emotional bars, and hunting pubs, additional strengthened rules will be applied, such as limiting the number of users to one person per 4㎡ (1.21 pyeong) of permitted or reported facility area.

For other high-risk facilities, quarantine rules will be applied separately for the metropolitan area and non-metropolitan areas.

First, in the metropolitan area, the ban on gatherings at 10 types of high-risk facilities will be lifted. The 10 types of high-risk facilities are ▲entertainment bars ▲karaoke bars ▲danran bars ▲emotional bars ▲hunting pubs ▲karaoke rooms ▲indoor standing concert halls ▲indoor group exercise (intense GX types) ▲large academies (300 or more people) ▲buffets. However, mask-wearing, electronic entry log creation, and other quarantine rules must be strictly followed.

In the metropolitan area, gatherings, meetings, and events of 50 or more people indoors and 100 or more people outdoors are also recommended to be refrained from. For churches, face-to-face worship is allowed within 30% of the seating capacity of the worship hall, but meals, small group meetings, and events are prohibited.

Additionally, for 16 types of facilities including ▲general restaurants, cafes, bakeries (150㎡ or larger) ▲water parks ▲amusement parks ▲performance halls ▲movie theaters ▲PC rooms ▲academies (under 300 people) ▲vocational training institutions ▲study cafes ▲arcades ▲religious facilities ▲indoor wedding halls ▲bathhouses and saunas ▲indoor sports facilities ▲multi-rooms and DVD rooms ▲funeral halls, core quarantine rules such as mask-wearing, visitor log management, and distancing between users must be mandatorily observed.

In non-metropolitan areas, large-scale events and gatherings will be allowed, and high-risk infection facilities can operate while mandatorily complying with quarantine rules.

However, the ban on gatherings at direct sales promotion centers for door-to-door sales will be maintained. Sports events such as professional baseball and soccer will allow spectators up to 30% of the stadium capacity, and the number of spectators will be gradually increased depending on the trend of infection spread.

Indoor and outdoor national and public facilities will operate by limiting the number of visitors to about half of the capacity.

The CDSCHQ plans to impose bans on gatherings or fines up to 3 million KRW on facilities that violate mandatory core quarantine rules, as before.

Also, according to the revised Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, starting from the 13th, operators of facilities violating quarantine rules may be fined up to 3 million KRW, and users up to 100,000 KRW.

However, the imposition of fines will be applied from November 13 after a one-month grace period.

Furthermore, from December 30, if there are serious violations of quarantine rules, local government heads will be able to order suspension of facility operations for up to three months.

To activate claims for damages when infections spread due to violations of quarantine rules by individuals or groups, central ministries and local governments will form a consultative body to specify claim standards and measures.

Head Park said, "Successful quarantine is possible when each citizen voluntarily and responsibly follows quarantine rules such as wearing masks," and urged, "Please all work together to prevent the re-spread of infection through social solidarity."

The CDSCHQ lowered the distancing level to Level 1 based on the recent decrease of about 30 new daily COVID-19 cases domestically. They also considered public fatigue and economic impacts due to the prolonged Level 2 distancing.

Head Park said, "The infection reproduction number (an indicator showing how many people one infected person infects) is stably maintained below 1," and added, "Currently, we are blocking a large-scale COVID-19 outbreak and stabilizing at the Level 1 lifestyle quarantine level."

The government emphasized again that this is not strictly Level 1 distancing in the strict sense.

Head Park explained, "Considering the possibility of cluster infections and latent infections, the metropolitan area is not yet a situation to be fully relieved," and said, "The overall framework is Level 1, but some Level 2 measures remain."

He continued, "Adjusting distancing does not mean stopping distancing efforts," and added, "It is an adjustment to perform quarantine more effectively and secure social acceptability."

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