Incheon Implements 'Social Distancing Level 1.5' Starting from the 23rd

Relaxation of Quarantine Rules for Religious Activities and Entertainment Facilities
Ganghwa and Ongjin Counties with No Confirmed Cases Maintain Level 1

Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo is holding a regular briefing on COVID-19 response on the 17th at the briefing room of the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The government decided to raise the social distancing level to 1.5 in the metropolitan area and Gangwon region starting from midnight on the 19th. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] As the government plans to implement social distancing level 1.5 in the Seoul metropolitan area starting at midnight on the 19th, Incheon City has decided to postpone the implementation to midnight on the 23rd.

Incheon City stated on the 17th that it had proposed implementing its own quarantine measures considering that the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) had not been significant so far, and the government accepted this proposal. Accordingly, Incheon will implement level 1.5 four days later than Seoul and Gyeonggi Province.

Ganghwa County and Ongjin County in Incheon, where confirmed cases are almost nonexistent, will maintain level 1 for the time being as before.

Additionally, some activities such as religious activities and entertainment facilities in Incheon will be subject to more relaxed quarantine rules than level 1.5.

For religious activities such as regular worship services, masses, Buddhist ceremonies, and ancestral rites, under level 1.5 only up to 30% of the seating capacity is allowed to participate, and gatherings and meals are prohibited. However, Incheon City has relaxed this to allow up to 50% of seating capacity (with one seat spacing) and still prohibits gatherings and meals.

To allow freer religious activities, if there is a considerable distance (3 meters or more) during sermons or preaching and an acrylic partition is installed (at least as tall as the preacher), exceptions will be made to exempt from fines for not wearing masks.

For five types of entertainment facilities such as clubs and hunting bars, under level 1.5, in addition to the level 1 capacity limit (one person per 4㎡ of facility area), dancing and moving between tables are prohibited. However, Incheon City will implement a capacity limit of one person per 8㎡ and only prohibit moving between tables.

Meanwhile, when social distancing is raised to level 1.5, key management facilities including entertainment pubs, danran pubs, indoor standing concert halls, restaurants, cafes, and direct sales promotion centers will have expanded limits on the number of users, and high-risk activities such as eating in singing rooms will be prohibited.

Also, general management facilities such as PC rooms, wedding halls, funeral halls, academies, performance halls, movie theaters, indoor sports facilities, marts, and department stores will implement user limits (one person per 4㎡ of facility area, etc.) along with seat spacing. Public and national facilities will limit users to 20-50%, and social welfare facilities will strengthen quarantine measures such as limiting facility capacity.

Citizens' daily life and social and economic activities will also be restricted. For masks, outdoor sports stadiums will be added to places where wearing masks is mandatory under level 1. For gatherings and events, four types of events including assemblies and demonstrations, large-scale concerts, academic events, and festivals will be limited to fewer than 100 people, and sports spectators will be limited to 30% of the venue capacity.

Mayor Park Namchun said, "The reason only Incheon City was able to delay the implementation timing in this metropolitan area level 1.5 upgrade is thanks to the citizens who have actively cooperated in preventing the spread of COVID-19 despite many inconveniences," and added, "This weekend can be considered a time to test Incheon City's management capability, so please actively participate in complying with quarantine rules."

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