Only 2 People Allowed in the Evening · Entertainment Venues Closed... What Changes in Seoul Metropolitan Area Level 4 (Update)

Additional Quarantine Measures Including Exclusion of Vaccinated Individuals from Incentives Beyond Level 4 Actions

On the 9th, as the number of new COVID-19 cases reached 1,316, breaking records day after day, citizens lined up at a screening clinic set up at the Gangnam-gu Public Health Center in Seoul to get tested. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The government will apply a high-intensity Level 4 social distancing measure that prohibits gatherings of three or more people after 6 p.m. in the Seoul metropolitan area starting next week. Although Gyeonggi and Incheon have not yet met the Level 4 criteria, the government decided to implement Level 4 across the entire metropolitan area for two weeks as a preemptive quarantine measure.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) held a meeting at the Government Seoul Office on the 9th and decided to apply the new Level 4 social distancing to the metropolitan area including Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon (excluding Ganghwa and Ongjin counties in Incheon). Accordingly, the metropolitan area will implement the highest level immediately upon the introduction of the new system. Considering the need for a preparation period, the Level 4 measures will be applied from midnight on the 12th and maintained for two weeks until midnight on the 25th of this month. The government plans to evaluate the epidemic situation during this period and decide whether to extend the current level or adjust it.

Specifically, private gatherings are allowed up to four people before 6 p.m., and up to two people after 6 p.m. Exceptions under the existing distancing system, such as immediate family and first birthday parties, will not be recognized. Exceptions are only allowed when cohabiting family members, caregivers for children, elderly, or disabled persons perform caregiving activities, or in cases of gatherings for a deathbed.

Under Level 4, events and assemblies are prohibited except for one-person protests. Weddings and funerals are limited to relatives within the eighth degree of kinship, relatives within the fourth degree by marriage, spouses, and are capped at 49 attendees.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Among multi-use facilities, all entertainment establishments including nightclubs, karaoke bars, and emotional pubs will be banned from gathering. All other multi-use facilities may operate only until 10 p.m.

Sports viewing and bicycle racing, horse racing, and motorboat racing will be held without spectators. Accommodation facilities can operate only two-thirds of their rooms, and parties or events hosted by accommodation facilities are also prohibited.

Schools will switch entirely to remote learning under the new Level 4 social distancing. However, after a preparation period for academic schedule changes, this will be fully implemented starting from the 14th. Religious facilities will only allow non-face-to-face worship services, and all gatherings, events, meals, and overnight stays are prohibited. Workplaces, except for manufacturing, are recommended to implement staggered commuting hours, staggered lunch breaks, and 30% telecommuting.

Additional quarantine rules beyond Level 4 measures will also be applied during this period. Most notably, in the metropolitan area, vaccination incentives related to personnel limits for private gatherings will be excluded. In other words, even vaccinated individuals will not be exempt from the gathering and usage limits for ▲immediate family gatherings ▲private meetings and events ▲multi-use facilities ▲religious activities including choirs and small group meetings.

Previously, the government decided to postpone the transition to the new distancing system and extend Level 2 distancing until the 14th due to the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in the metropolitan area. However, as the spread continued, the recent weekly average daily cases in the metropolitan area exceeded 500 (740.9 as of the 9th), meeting the new Level 3 criteria. As of this date, Seoul’s weekly average daily cases reached 410, entering the Level 4 patient criteria (day 1), Gyeonggi is at Level 3, and Incheon is at Level 2.

However, if the current level of cases continues, Seoul is expected to meet the Level 4 criteria of maintaining a weekly average daily case count of 389 or more for three consecutive days around the 11th. The government explained that since Gyeonggi and Incheon are linked to Seoul as one living zone, Level 4 was 'preemptively applied' to the entire metropolitan area including these regions that have not yet met the distancing criteria.

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