South Korea reviews tightening social distancing

Seoul: The South Korean government on Friday launched a review on raising the level of social distancing as new coronavirus clusters in the greater Seoul area have raised concerns of a possible bigger outbreak.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters said it views the status quo in a "grave" manner, saying it has started to review tightening social distancing by one notch in the so-called capital area, which includes Seoul and Gyeonggi province, reports Yonhap News Agency.

"We are facing another critical moment, as the spread of Covid-19 in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province is worrisome," said Vice Health Minister Kim Ganglip.

"Since the conditions for raising the level have not been met, we have to see how things go today and tomorrow

"If the conditions are met, we should be able to take necessary measures even during the holiday period," Kim said.

The government considers raising the anti-infection measure when daily new infections reach 50 to 100 over a two-week period or when infection clusters that are being closely monitored continue to grow.

Currently under the Level 2 social distancing, gatherings of 50 or more people that take place indoors and of 100 or more people outdoors are restricted.

South Korea is set to enjoy a three-day weekendk, with August 17 being designated as a special public holiday to prop up the pandemic-hit economy.

The latest move comes as cluster infections coming from small churches are growing.

Many of the infected patients were found to have had meals together or not worn masks.

On Friday, South Korea reported 103 new infections, including 85 locally transmitted ones, bringing the COVID-19 caseload to 14,873, Yonhap News Agency quoted the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) as saying.

The number of newly identified local infections marks the most since 88 on March 31.