S.Korea mulling to extend distancing norms for 2 weeks

Seoul, Feb 26 (IANS) South Korea is mulling to extend its social distancing measures for another two weeks, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on Friday, as the country continue to witness a spike in the coronavirus cases.

"The government will decide to extend the current distancing levels for another two weeks starting next week during today's meeting," the Prime Minister said during a regular Covid-19 response meeting held at the government complex here.

The greater Seoul area, home to around half of the nation's 52-million population, will remain under Level 2 distancing and the rest of the country will be subject to Level 1.5 distancing for an additional two weeks starting next week, Yonhap reported.

Bans on gatherings of five or more people and restrictions on small businesses, such as restaurants and cafes, will also remain in place for another two weeks, Chung said.

The plan was announced amid South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases having stayed around the 400 mark in the past few days. The country also started its public vaccination program to curb the virus spread.

"Sporadic cluster infections are breaking out continuously," Chung said, while also pointing to the increasing risk of transmission as schools prepare to reopen next week.

Chung urged the public to adhere to the government's social distancing rules, expressing concerns of a shortage of medical resources in the case of a resurgence of another pandemic wave.

He said that authorities will prepare to revamp the current social distancing scheme after monitoring the virus situation for the time being.

The Prime Minister also noted that the public is hoping for a return to normal, daily life from the public vaccine program and promised that the government will do all it can to fulfill that dream.