Restaurants to Open Until Midnight. Restriction on Gatherings Lifted Outside the Greater Seoul Area

[경향신문]

New Distancing System: Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum explains the new physical (social) distancing system, which will be applied in July, at a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters in response to COVID-19 at the government office in Seoul on June 20. Yonhap News

On June 20, the government released new physical (social) distancing guidelines after four months of deliberation. The government significantly eased preventive measures from the draft released in March and drew up more detailed guidelines for public facilities. The government plans to restore everyday life more quickly and broadly than it originally planned.

The new system, which will be applied beginning July 1, reduced the number of distancing levels from five to four. The current 0.5-level margins had been criticized for failing to sufficiently reflect the difference in risks in each level, and it was difficult to quickly adjust the level of distancing. Authorities also considered the fact that current regulations to prevent contagion resulted in damages concentrated on self-employed business owners and store owners. “It was group punishment where the majority of the good groups who faithfully followed the guidelines suffered damages because a few facilities failed to abide by the guidelines,” said Kim Yoon, a professor at Seoul National University College of Medicine.

The new system emphasized freedom, responsibility, and sustainability. According to the draft distancing policy that the government released in March, authorities were to enforce level-2 distancing when the daily number of new cases was 181 or more in the Seoul metropolitan area, level 3 when the daily number of new cases was 389 or more, and level 4 for 788 or more. But the final measures that the government announced this day eased the standards to 250 or more for level 2, 500 or more for level 3, and 1,000 or more for level 4. The government raised the standard, requiring a bigger number of positive cases to raise the physical distancing level.

If the novel coronavirus continues to spread at the current rate, level 2 will be applied in Seoul and the surrounding area, and level 1 will be applied in other areas. Since a large population travels between Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi, these areas will be bound together as one zone with the same distancing level applied. Under the new system, private gatherings of up to six people will be allowed for two weeks at level 2, and then expanded to 8 people, and business hours for restaurants will be extended until midnight. Outside the greater Seoul area, level 1 distancing will be applied, and all restrictions on private gatherings and business hours will be lifted. Authorities will also drastically ease several preventive measures that had restricted the activities of individuals and businesses of public facilities.

Behind the latest decision lied the judgment that the nation could maintain the current disease control system even if more COVID-19 cases were confirmed. Thanks to lessons learned from the three waves of the virus, the nation has expanded its capacity to respond to infectious diseases, such as hospital beds for critical patients and living treatment centers. Also the COVID-19 vaccine rollout has led to a gradual decrease in the fatality of the virus as well as the number of patients developing serious symptoms. The Central Disaster Management Headquarters announced, “We have secured enough capacity in our medical system to treat up to a weekly average of over a thousand patients,” and added, “After July, we expect to be able to treat up to 2,000 patients due to the decrease in the number of patients with serious symptoms.”

Another noticeable fact was that the government had discussions with industry insiders and reflected the characteristics of each industry in the latest measures. Restaurants and cafes must keep the music at a volume that allows people to hear the person sitting next to them speak. This was to prevent people from raising their voices and producing respiratory droplets when engaging in a conversation. When level 3 or higher distancing is enforced, group exercise facilities, such as dancing, spinning and aerobics studios must keep the beat at or under 100-120 bpm, and keep the speed of treadmills at or under 6km/h. This is to prevent the spread of respiratory droplets due to high intensity workouts.

However, experts point out that some details are not realistic. For instance, authorities recommended restricting the use of Internet cafes to within two hours per person and refraining from using a common hair dryer or fan in public bath houses. Son Young-rae, director of social strategy at the Central Disaster Management Headquarters said, “We have reached an agreement (with each industry) that they will accept the local government’s exercise of authority, such as restrictions in business hours and gatherings, over the businesses in their jurisdiction when a large number of violations are detected.” In other words, if violations of disease prevention measures lead to clusters of contagion, local governments can individually take additional measures, such as restrict business hours and ban gatherings.

Self-employed business owners and store owners welcomed the government’s decision to apply the new system, which will extend business hours early from July 1. Yi Cheol-geun, chairman of the National Singing Room Association said, “We welcome the latest decision 100%,” and added, “A 24/7 business hour would be best, but we also have to consider fairness with other businesses.” Choi Won-bong, secretary-general of the Korean Federation of Bars and Clubs said, “It’s not perfect, but it’s a relief because I think we will be able to make a living by operating until midnight.”