Gov't to raise private gathering size limit to 6, keep 9 p.m. curfew on restaurants
Medical workers wait for people at an empty makeshift testing site in Seoul, Jan. 13. AP-Yonhap
The government decided to raise the private gathering size limit to six while keeping its 9 p.m. curfew on restaurants and cafes for the next three weeks, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday.
The decision came as the number of daily COVID-19 cases has hovered around 4,000 in recent days following the government's robust booster shot campaign and tightened antivirus curbs, after reaching as high as over 7,000 last month.
However, the health authorities are still keeping their guard up due to the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of COVID-19, with concerns over a possible uptick around the Lunar New Year holiday period beginning later this month.
The new distancing rules will be in place from Monday through Feb. 6. (Yonhap)