South Korea concludes pandemic management program
Today is the last day of Seoul’s “10 Million Citizens Stop Week”.
The programme, announced on August 30, was a series of measures to promote stricter social distancing in the South Korean capital. Restrictions are imposed on restaurants, night buses, tutoring academies and public sports facilities.
The week prior to the new programme, Seoul’s new confirmed cases of COVID-19 increased by more than a hundred every day, the highest rate in the past four months. The Seoul Metropolitan Government adopted the emergency measures in response to a credible risk of a large second wave. Nationally, South Korea upgraded its social distancing mechanisms to grade two out of three, one step away from lockdown.
As Seoul has seen a decreasing trend in confirmed cases over the last week, expect interim mayor Seo Jeong-hyup to announce some adjustments to the program. The alterations will focus on providing more flexibility to small business owners and employees, as one out of seven Koreans are now unemployed or underemployed. Meanwhile, the city will sustain its caution to prevent greater damage to the economy that would be caused by a full lockdown.
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