South Korea tightens social-distancing rules, and other news from around the world.
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Version 0 of 1. The Seoul city government said on Monday that it was closing nightclubs and banning late-night restaurant dining starting Tuesday as South Korea tightened guidelines to battle a surge in coronavirus infections. South Korea’s daily caseload rose above 300 for five straight days before dropping to 271 on Monday. Most of the new cases in the recent spike were reported in Seoul, the capital, and in nearby cities. Unlike the earlier waves of infections that had been clustered around several churches and outdoor rallies, the current surge was more widespread, originating in gatherings of family and friends where people took off their masks, health officials said. On Monday, the military said that 36 service members had tested positive in an artillery unit near the border with North Korea. The new restrictions in Seoul include a ban on gatherings of more than 100 people and mandate that nightclubs, dance halls, casinos and other high-risk entertainment facilities shut. No more than 10 people can attend outdoor rallies. Restaurant dining will be allowed until 9 p.m., and museums, schools, churches, stadiums and other public facilities must reduce the number of visitors and students they can accept between 20 and 67 percent of capacity, depending on the type of facility. The city will also reduce the number of buses and subways that run late at night. “The third wave of the pandemic is underway because of a silent spread of the virus in our daily lives, leading to over 2,000 additional cases in a week,” said Kang Do-tae, South Korea’s vice health minister. In other developments around the world: Parts of Southern Ontario, including Toronto, entered the strictest phase of Canada’s tiered system of restrictions on Monday. Under the new restrictions, indoor gatherings are not allowed, outdoor gatherings are limited, and in-person dining and in-person retail shopping at businesses other than select stores, including supermarkets, is prohibited. Turkey recorded its highest daily number of cases, 6,017, on Sunday, according to the country’s health ministry. Critics have repeatedly challenged the government’s coronavirus figures as an undercount. The French agriculture ministry said on Sunday that 1,000 minks had been slaughtered at a farm south of Paris after some of the animals tested positive for the coronavirus, and that minks were being tested at two other farms. France is the second European country, after Denmark, to cull farmed mink because of the virus. |