South Korea is raising social distancing in Seoul to its highest level, banning gatherings of three or more people after 6pm and ordering nighttime entertainment businesses to close, as the capital is at the center of a surge in COVID-19 cases.
The nation is moving social distancing regulations to the level of 4 for Seoul, where the majority of new cases have emerged, with sporadic outbreaks at restaurants, bars and shopping malls.
The latest surge is a setback for a nation that has been lauded as a model for containing the pandemic without imposing a lockdown.
Photo: Reuters
The measures to be imposed for Seoul would be the strictest since the South Korean government restricted businesses in Daegu after an outbreak at a mega church early last year, which led to the nation’s first major surge in cases.
The measures are to take effect on Monday next week and last for two weeks, South Korean Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said in a televised address.
Seoul has posted record numbers of cases in the past two days after the nation eased social distancing regulations, which have since been rescinded.
After a slow start amid a supply shortage, South Korea has stepped up vaccinations and has inoculated about 30 percent of the population with at least one dose.
About 11 percent of the population have been fully vaccinated.
South Korea yesterday reported 1,316 new cases, a record high.
Four contenders are squaring up to succeed Antonio Guterres as secretary-general of the UN, which faces unprecedented global instability, wars and its own crushing budget crisis. Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal’s Macky Sall are each to face grillings by 193 member states and non-governmental organizations for three hours today and tomorrow. It is only the second time the UN has held a public question-and-answer, a format created in 2016 to boost transparency. Ultimately the five permanent members of the UN’s top body, the Security Council, hold the power, wielding vetoes over who leads the
A humanoid robot that won a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday ran faster than the human world record in a show of China’s technological leaps. The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, completed the 21km race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, said a WeChat post by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town, where the race began. That was faster than the human world record holder, Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in about 57 minutes in March at the Lisbon road race. The performance by the robot marked a significant step forward
An earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.7 off northern Japan on Monday prompted a short-lived tsunami alert and the advisory of a higher risk of a possible mega-quake for coastal areas there. The Cabinet Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency said there was a 1% chance for a mega-quake, compared to a 0.1% chance during normal times, in the next week or so following the powerful quake near the Chishima and Japan trenches. Officials said the advisory was not a quake prediction but urged residents in 182 towns along the northeastern coasts to raise their preparedness while continuing their daily lives. Prime
HAZARDOUS CONDITION: The typhoon’s sheer size, with winds extending 443km from its center, slowed down the ability of responders to help communities, an official said The US Coast Guard was searching for six people after losing contact with their disabled boat off the coast of Guam following Typhoon Sinlaku. The crew of the 44m dry cargo vessel, the US-registered Mariana, on Wednesday notified the coast guard that the boat had lost its starboard engine and needed assistance, Petty Officer 3rd Class Avery Tibbets said yesterday. The coast guard set up a one-hour communication schedule with the vessel, but lost contact on Thursday. A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircraft was launched to search for the six people on board, but it had to return to Guam because of
RSS