Daejeon Raises Social Distancing to Level 2... Operating Hours Restricted for Restaurants, Cafes, and Academies

Daejeon Mayor Heo Tae-jeong is explaining the current status of COVID-19 cluster infections and special quarantine measures by facility. Provided by Daejeon City

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Daejeon City is raising the social distancing level from the current Level 1.5 to Level 2. This decision was made out of concern over the spread of 'n-th generation infections' within the region, mainly among teenagers.

The city announced on the 7th that social distancing will be elevated to Level 2 from the 8th to the 18th. This measure was taken considering the ongoing n-th generation infections among middle and high school students centered around schools and academies.

With the implementation of social distancing Level 2, restaurants, cafes, entertainment facilities, karaoke rooms, indoor sports facilities, and academies in the area will be prohibited from operating after 10 PM. However, restaurants and cafes are allowed to offer takeout and delivery services after 10 PM.

In particular, frontline schools will limit density to one-third of the total capacity, and religious facilities will only be allowed to gather up to 20% of their total seating capacity.

Along with strengthening social distancing, the city plans to enhance joint inspections with related organizations such as the Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education and the Daejeon Police Agency to ensure effective quarantine measures.

Previously, to prevent cluster infections at places like emotional pubs, pojangmacha (street food stalls), and PC rooms, the city issued an administrative order from the 4th to proactively restrict business operations.

However, as COVID-19 confirmed cases continued to emerge in schools and academies, the city explained that it urgently decided to raise the social distancing level.

Mayor Heo Tae-jeong of Daejeon emphasized, "The COVID-19 situation in Daejeon, which had been relatively stable, is now escalating to a critical crisis. In this situation, the city has determined that it is necessary to quickly prevent the re-spread of COVID-19 in the community through connections such as schools and academies."

He added, "We earnestly ask citizens to practice a 'time for everyone to pause' to prevent further spread of COVID-19 in the community. We request that people refrain from meetings and outings and avoid traveling to other regions for the time being."

Meanwhile, a total of 28 new confirmed cases (numbers 1432 to 1459) were reported in the region the previous evening. Among them, 21 cases (numbers 1436, 1439, and 1443 to 1459) were found to be linked to a private academy in Gayang-dong, Dong-gu, Daejeon. The total number of confirmed cases related to this academy has reached 61 so far.

Additionally, recent n-th generation infection cases continue without interruption, including a total of 39 confirmed cases related to a sister church gathering in the region.

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