사회적 거리두기 2주동안 2단계로 완화
The South Korean government announced this afternoon that it's easing the social distancing measures in the Seoul region... now that the number of daily cases has come down.
Starting Monday, we'll be going from level 2-point-5 to back to level 2, which means restaurants can serve customers after 9 PM, and cafes can let people eat and drink inside the shop.
Our Kim Yeon-seung has this report.
South Korea on Sunday confirmed another one-hundred-21 cases of COVID-19.
Of those, 99 are local infections, and most of them are in the capital region.
There have also been fewer than two hundred for the past 11 days.
This has prompted the authorities to lower the heightened level 2-point-5 distancing measures to level 2 in the greater Seoul area.
The new measures take effect Monday and will continue for the next two weeks.
But the Korean thanksgiving holiday of Chuseok, starting in late September, poses risks... because it's a time when millions of Koreans typically travel all throughout the country.
So Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters... that the two weeks starting from September 28th will be a 'special quarantine period.'
He did not specify exactly what that means, but he did say that it will include strong prevention measures.
The Prime Minister Chung also urged people to show understanding for the more than 20-thousand people in South Korea who've contracted the virus.
Even when people recover from the virus, many of them are left with an emotional burden because society brands them with a scarlet letter. Anyone can be infected with COVID-19, so please put yourself in their shoes.
With the strictest rules lifted, customers can now eat and drink inside cafes,... and in restaurants even after 9 PM.
Gatherings indoors are still limited to fewer than 50 people, and outdoors fewer than a hundred.
For people in the Seoul area, it's a big step towards returning to normal life.
Kim Yeon-seung, Arirang News.
