New Distancing System Enforced on July 1: Level 2 in the Seoul Metropolitan Area and Level 1 Everywhere Else

[경향신문]

Citizens walking along the streets of Myeong-dong, Seoul on June 27. Yonhap News

From July 1, the nation will undergo a preparatory period for two weeks and apply a new social distancing system. During the preparatory period, up to six people can come together for private gatherings in the greater Seoul area, while in most other areas up to eight people will be allowed. After the two weeks, level-2 distancing will be enforced in the Seoul metropolitan area, allowing up to eight people to gather, while level 1 will be enforced in other areas, with the restriction on private gatherings lifted altogether.

On June 27, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters announced the new social distancing system that will be applied individually by each local government beginning next month. The new distancing system is divided into four stages: control (level 1), local outbreak and quota (level 2), regional outbreak and ban on gatherings (level 3), and epidemic and lockdown (level 4). The government has set two weeks (July 1-14) as an implementation period to act as a kind of buffer and granted local governments the autonomy to promote their own disease control measures.

Level 2 will be enforced in the Seoul metropolitan area, where the size of the outbreak is big. In the past week (June 21-27), authorities confirmed an average of 385.6 cases of COVID-19 a day in the greater Seoul area, significantly higher than the standard for level-2 distancing (250). In level 2, up to eight people can come together for private gatherings. During the implementation period, up to six people will be allowed to attend such gatherings.

Beginning next month, clubs and bars, colatecs and nightclubs, and singing rooms can open for business until midnight. The restriction on business hours will be lifted for other facilities. However, people can only eat in restaurants and cafes until midnight. After that only take out and deliveries are allowed. Son Young-rae, director of social strategy at the Central Disaster Management Headquarters said, “Since the scale of the outbreak is big in Seoul, we are reviewing ways to further strengthen disease control measures along with experts.” The announcement came after the spread of the virus in Seoul refused to die down, with authorities confirming 242 cases in Seoul the previous day, the largest number for a Saturday this year.

Level 1 will be applied in all areas outside the greater Seoul area. All restrictions on private gatherings and business hours will be lifted. The number of cases in Daejeon and Sejong currently exceed the standard for level 1, but the number temporarily surged due to clusters of transmission, and authorities have secured sufficient medical capacity within the region, so level 1 will be enforced.

All areas outside the Seoul metropolitan area, except for Chungcheongnam-do, will also go through an implementation period for two weeks. During this time, up to eight people can gather in most areas outside the greater Seoul area. In Jeju, up to six people can attend a gathering. The city of Daegu will announce separate guidelines on June 29. Some areas in Gangwon-do, Jeollabuk-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do and Gyeongsangnam-do, where authorities are test running the new distancing system, will not enforce restrictions on private gatherings. The local governments will enforce individual disease control measures for two weeks, such as preemptive tests for employees of clubs and bars and a ban on group gatherings, meals, and lodging at religious facilities.

People who have been fully inoculated will enjoy more freedom in their activities. People who are fully vaccinated, referring to those who have received all the recommended doses of the COVID-19 vaccine with their last dose administered more than two weeks ago, will be excluded from restrictions on private gatherings. For example, on July 1, a total of eight people can gather at a restaurant if two of them have been fully inoculated. So the more people who have been inoculated take part, the bigger the number of people allowed for private gatherings. However, the government withdrew plans to exclude people who have been fully inoculated from the restriction on demonstrations and rallies.

There are concerns that the easing of disease control measures can emerge as a new risk factor. As of midnight June 27, authorities confirmed 614 new cases of COVID-19. The figure remains over 600 for five consecutive days. Seven out of ten cases infected through local transmission were from the Seoul metropolitan area. Among the 44 cases that entered from overseas, 25 were from Indonesia, where the delta strain is spreading. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said, “The biggest challenge in disease control will be until mid-July, when the nation begins to administer the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to a massive number of people.” He asked the people to “refrain from large gatherings and parties.”